Rhiannon
by rhiannonstar
Summary: My name is Rhiannon Emerson. My parents are Michael and Star Emerson. My soul mate is a vampire that died in 1987. I have been given the chance to change things. This is my story.
1. Chapter 1

It was on my 13th birthday that I was told about _The Lost Boys_.

Mom had been adamant on making sure I knew about the horrific history of the family, while Dad was a bit more hesitant.

In the end, Uncle Sam and Uncle Laddie sided with Mom and the story was revealed.

A lot of strange things happened when kids turned 13, so it seemed.

Around 1998, a group of Enchantresses came out of hiding.

They were the only supernatural beings ever acknowledged by the public, though the women made vague comments about how they were "not alone."

They had developed a system that society quickly put into effect; rings of fate. Much like the strings that connected two soul mates in mythology, these were similar in concept. While not connecting two people in a literal sense, these rings would remain a solid black until the wearer was in the close presence of their soul mate, and then the ring would shift into a burning red.

The world seemed to like the idea of two people knowing they were destined for one another.

It had become a crime to not wear them after it was bestowed upon you once you were 13 or older, unless you had already found your "one."

I was mixed on the idea when I was old enough to understand it.

It didn't help when **5** years passed after I was given the ring and I was still alone. Everyone I knew was mated; it made me feel like an outcast.

That is skipping ahead in the story, though. My apologies.

I had a hard time believing the story presented to me by my family. I distinctly remember wondering what drugs they were on to think that I would believe in vampires. It wasn't until my mother was in tears that I truly began to listen and believe..

"_You're not joking," I scoffed as I twirled the black ring around on my pointer finger. The adults all shook their heads. "Holy crap."_

"_That was my reaction," Sam laughed._

_Laddie moved beside me and placed a hand on my back, "It's a lot to process."_

"_You think?" I snapped and quickly retreated at the glare from Mom. My eyes softened as I looked up at Laddie, "Sorry, Uncle L. It's just…"_

"_We know," Dad sighed. "We just want you safe, honey. Your mother thought you knowing might help."_

"_But, they're dead," I darted my eyes around the room. "The four of them, I mean."_

"_That doesn't mean there aren't others somewhere," Mom chimed in._

"_You must be careful, Rhiannon."_

My family had never run across any vampires since they left Santa Carla.

Laddie had spent some time as a hunter, and was thoroughly convinced that they were a dying breed.

In the present, there was no danger. That said nothing for the **past**.

The past.. It had no significance anymore. They got through it, and that was all that mattered.

Things weren't that simple for _me_, though.

It was the summer after my graduation from High School; mere weeks before I was scheduled to start at UCLA with a major in performing arts.

I was tired… lonely.

Most of the kids in school would go out and party until they found their mate; there was no need to miss out on life until then.

I had adopted that philosophy for a short while, and had a few flings, but refused to get serious with anyone.

The idea of true love appealed to me.

While I was a teenager with hormones that I couldn't always control, I refused to attach myself to anyone seriously.

I had witnessed it one too many times and it always led to heartbreak.

My parents hated seeing me like that. It was unusual that I had found no one yet, while everyone else around me had.

"_Michael, It's not right," Star whispered into the darkness of the kitchen._

"_I know," Michael breathed out in a grunt. "She looks so broken all of the time."_

"_There is sadness in her," Star rested her head against her husband's chest._

"_We need to do something," Michael pressed a kiss to her forehead with a frown._

That was why Mom, Dad and Uncle Laddie decided to take me to the enchantresses.

They normally didn't speak to others, except in extreme or rare circumstances.

This was one, in their eyes.

I sat uneasily in the plush chair at the center of the room, keeping my comments about how it looked like a gypsy's tent at a fair to myself.

The three adults sat around me while I rested my head against Laddie's shoulder. He had always been the closest to me; it caused my father to make snide, playfully jealous comments on a frequent basis.

"Ms. Emerson?"

My head perked up as an older woman of about 50 stepped out of the shadows and took a seat on the other side of the table across from me, "Yes, that's me."

"I was most curious to meet you, dear," The woman crooned as she ran her hand over the cards, glass vials and globes over the desk, arranging several things in front of her. "I'm Mirela. Now, if you'll please…" She waved her hand and my seat moved closer, pressing my waist against the narrow table. "Thank you."

I held her hand out over one of the glass orbs, already having heard the drill from the receptionist in the lobby. Mirela smiled as she pulled a small needle out and pricked my palm several times to draw up three beads of blood to the surface.

In a swift motion, she flipped my hand down onto the orb just long enough for the blood to make contact before allowing me to return it to the safety of my lap, holding back a wince at the dull pain.

The three drops seemed to swirl past the glass and inside the orb, and Mirela informed them it would be a few minutes before that would be ready.

"Now, dear," Mirela fanned the tarot cards out in front of me and instructed me to pick five without looking. I pointed to five with ease and pushed them towards the woman, no hesitation in my actions which made the old woman raise an eyebrow. "Curious."

"What is?" Mom perked up from behind me.

"Most people take their time, Mrs. Emerson," The enchantress informed us. "Your daughter didn't need time. She didn't need to think about it." Mirela smirked only for a moment, until she flipped the cards over in front of her. "You're very intriguing, Rhiannon."

"How so?" My bell like voice whispered as I looked down at the cards. These were not normal tarots, as I could tell just by the arrangement. However, those that I had seen before were merely fortune tellers and gypsies… this was something different. "Please explain them to me."

Mirela nodded as she pushed each forward and began.

The first card was the broken lovers, two twisted beings who were just out of reach of one another, "There is love, but it is not without cost and distance."

The second was an hourglass, but the picture was flipped, "Out of the ordinary… it refers to the past, but you haven't met your mate."

The third was a heart with swords jammed in different angles, the cloudy sky behind it being broken through by a bright sun, "War and sorrow, heartache and tears; the establishment of it always being darkest before the dawn."

Mirela reached the fourth card, a princess bathed in moonlight, "This is you. You must be isolated. You're one of creative spirit, but I'm sure you know that." I nodded with a small smile. "You desire help, but keep things to yourself. Your imagination is wild, and you have a most useful gift… you have the gift of dreams and travel."

I was more confused than ever as Mirela flipped the fifth card, "The prince of night. He is charming and passionate, yet ruthless and cunning. He's easily loved." I sucked in a harsh breath as she continued. "Pain follows him. He lives under a mask of darkness and death. There will be blood."

"_I'm going to be sick_," Mom mouthed to Dad from behind me. They both shared a silent look with Laddie, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so… I'm confused," I had tears in her eyes as I tried to piece things together. "Are you telling me… that he's dead?"

"I'm sorry, dear," Mirela gulped as she pushed the cards to the side. "There must be a mistake…"

"How is that possible?" Laddie asked.

"It shouldn't be," Mirela responded as she shushed them before she lifted the orb into her hands. The blood shot through it like lightning going through a fog. "Your hands," She waited on me to face my palms upwards so all four hands between the two of us could touch it.

I let out a yell as my eyes twisted into the back of my head and I slipped away into a fantasy in my mind, unaware of my surroundings as the glass pressed into my palms.

Star clasped her hand over her mouth as Laddie grabbed her to keep her from reaching for her child. Michael stepped up to the side of the table with a fierce frown, "What's happening to her?"

"She's searching for him," Mirela responded as she fought to keep their hands steadied.

Moments later, the glass and blood melted between our hands and I slumped back into my chair with a raspy breath as I was brought back into consciousness.

"Honey," Dad pressed a hand to my cheek to lift it upwards. "Where is he?"

"Santa Carla," My face was hard as stone. "He died in 1987." I turned my light green eyes upwards. "I couldn't tell which one he was… There were four, and I couldn't pick him out."

"Four?" Mom asked shakily as Laddie felt his heart skip a few beats.

"Marco… Paul… Dwayne… and David," I hissed out in anger, unable to control my temper. "I saw all of them die. I saw you three, and Uncle Sam and Grandmother. I saw _Max_."

I wasn't sure how I could put names to the faces, but now I knew them.

It felt so intimate watching someone die.

If only I knew which I should have really been watching…

"Your mate," Mirela breathed out heavily as her eyes searched the room. "I can fix this." _The girl is mated to a dead vampire. How strange. The girl's power of travel… I could send her back._ "You'll have to be alone, and fight. But, you can find him and make your own choices."

"No!" Mom shrieked. "She will not! You… you find her someone else! Another true love! One who's alive and not… evil!"

"So_ eloquent_, Mom."

"It doesn't work that way!" Mirela bellowed as her eyes flashed black and we all silenced under her glare. "I don't know how this happened, but we can't change who Rhiannon's destiny is."

The woman finally seemed to find the vial she was searching for and quickly poured the few droplets of my blood from her hands into the pink mixture and I watched it turn to a bright blue. Mirela capped it and shoved it into my hands, her eyes visibly frantic before me. "Put one of your hairs in it. Have a bag packed, on your person. Anything you need. It will take you back to the time of the _vampires_."

"Are you serious?" I yelped as I clutched the vial like a life line. My eyes scanned it as I ignored the venom in her voice at the acknowledgement of the undead. "This will… take me to the** past**?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p><strong>Please review so I know that this is worth continuing.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Please, just stop crying, Mother."

I stood in the center of the living room with a scowl on my face. My dark curls fell smoothly past my shoulders, the small amount of makeup I had on was light and shimmering. I had on a pair of torn skinny jeans, with laced combat boots over them going almost to my knees. My top was white lace and flowing around the wrists.

The tattoo of music notes under my left collar bone was completely visible, a gift from my Dad that I received on my 18th birthday.

A black backpack hung over my shoulder, filled with clothing, money and other essentials.

The ever black ring was the only piece of jewelry present, minus a diamond pendent settled in the groove at the base of my neck.

The vial was clutched in my hand, open with one of my hairs dissolved inside, "I have to do this. Please understand that."

Mom and Dad sat on the couch in front of me, both with disapproving looks etched on their faces. Mom refused to speak, so Dad finally did, "You know what they are… what they _did_."

"I just need to meet him," I sighed and hoped that they would understand. "I'll never have true love in this life… I just… I **have** to."

"Go," Laddie spoke up from the corner, his eyes dark and heavy. "I get it. You have to go."

I smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you." I turned her gaze back to my parents with a sad smile, "I love you both. Please don't hate me for this."

"Never. We love you," Mom finally mumbled as she clutched onto Dad's hand.

"Be strong," Dad nodded in addition.

"Always," I smiled as I took in a shaky breath and pressed the vial to my lips.

I didn't know how long I would be gone; I just knew that I wouldn't be returned until the time was right. I swallowed the liquid in one gulp and let it clatter from my hands to the floor as my vision began to fade.

The last thing I heard was a sob as I felt my body pull backwards into nothingness.

* * *

><p><span>Santa Carla, 1987<span>

I let out a grunt as I fell backwards onto the sand. The sound of waves crashing against the shore was the first thing that I heard.

My eyes darted around as I realized I was on the outskirts of the boardwalk, and they immediately adjusted to the darkness around me. I could hear music and see the lights in the distance.

_It was all real._

The next thing I did was expel the contents of my stomach violently on the ground beside me.

That was more of a pull than I had expected.

"_Smooth_, Rhiannon. Real smooth."

After a few moments to compose myself, I finally pushed up to my feet and brushed my clothing off. Looking down at my appearance, I only hoped that I wouldn't stick out too much.

When I started seeing the other… _occupants_… of the boardwalk, I realized that she would be fine. The style was diverse enough for me to blend right in.

My past obsession with the 1980's was serving me well.

It didn't take long for me to reach the boardwalk and my eyes immediately began searching for something familiar. My parents had told me the stories so many times that I had a timeline of sorts built into my head.

If I could just see something, I would know _when_ I was…

I quickly pulled a cigarette from my pocket and pushed it between my lips, lighting it as I sucked in the smooth, menthol tingle.

What my parents didn't know couldn't hurt them.

"_Star's great_," A voice broke my thoughts. "_I like Star_."

A female voice responded a few moments later with the same comment on the boy's name, Michael.

"Holy fuck," I whispered as I realized she was standing across from my parents. How their voices pierced the noise to meet my ears, I assumed was only magic. They passed right by me and I sucked in a slow breath.

They were so young and it made me missed the future them instantly… The oddity of seeing the two of them 25 years younger was enough to remind me that I needed to not view them as my parents. They were Michael and Star, **not** Dad and Mom.

_Not yet_.

Michael climbed onto his bike with Star at his side as four more motorcycles roared to life and pulled up to block them.

I could barely concentrate as the blackness of my ring turned to a dull gray.

_Wait… I know this story! This was how it all started…_

"Where you going, Star?" David asked without much hint of caring.

Mom had told me of their relationship; there was nothing resembling love or sex. It was all possession. They kept her to lure others in. Only David would even speak to her.

"For a ride," Star glared back. "This is Michael."

Michael tried coaxing her on the back of the bike before David said Star's name with a firmer tone.

Star, with a regretful look on her face, climbed on behind David as he smirked and Paul laughed from the side.

"You know where Hudson's bluff is, overlooking the point?" David asked.

"No, no, no," I whispered as my mind raced. Distracted by my thoughts, I didn't noticed the group of skinhead's come up behind me and grab at my bag, tearing one of the shoulder straps slightly. "Hey!"

"Look at you, pretty little thing," The tallest one smirked down at me. "I don't think you're from around here, are you?"

"That's none of your fucking business," I growled as I snatched my bag back. "Keep your hands off me and my shit."

I had a fighting spirit in me; that was one thing my Dad was always proud of.

Little did I know at the moment that behind me it had grabbed **his** attention, as well as that of the rest of the group.

A shorter male stepped up beside the leader, or so I presumed he was, with a grin, "You've got a mouth on you. We'd like it better if you shut it and handed the bag over."

"Or," The tall one cut in with a wink. "You can keep it and bring your little self with us to go party."

"No fucking way," I turned to leave as an arm clamped down on mine.

"That wasn't a suggestion, babe."

I grabbed his hand and bent it backwards, hearing a loud crack in his thin wrist as my other fist connected with his jaw and I pulled it back with blood smeared across my hand.

In a flash, I let out a yell as the small one punched me across the cheek and sent me flying backwards.

…Right into the center of the motorcycles, directly past Dwayne and Laddie onto my ass.

I rubbed my cheek tenderly as the men retreated upon looking at who I had fallen between.

It took me a second to realize where I was as well, "Oh, uh… sorry." I tried to keep my eyes averted as I licked a trickle of blood off of my top lip.

"Are you alright?" Michael asked as he lowered a hand and helped me to my feet.

"Yeah, Da-," I quickly stopped myself, internally cursing. "I mean, I'm fine."

Michael raised an eyebrow. _Did she almost call me Dad?_ He thought with a puzzled look. "You took a pretty hard punch…"

"She broke the dude's wrist," Marko noted with a smirk. "I think she's good."

"I've had worse," I admitted as I motioned to the already forming bruise under my eye. I kept my eyes down, trying not to meet eye contact with anyone just yet, especially_ Star_. "I'll just, uh… I'll get going."

"Do you need a ride?" Paul purred as he leaned forward with a glint in his eyes.

Michael ignored the boy and kept his attention on me. It was obvious that he felt something strange as he released my hand once I was on my feet and he introduced herself, "I'm Michael."

"Rhiannon," I smiled as I tried to ignore the hurt in my heart and find the right words to say. I wanted to warn him of what awaited him… but, how much could I say without throwing things completely off track. "Get back to your, uh… friends?"

"Not quite," He muttered under his breath as he looked up at Star, who was staring at him with curiosity, fear and hope.

"Are you ready, Michael?" David interjected with his own eyes on me as well, something I could feel piercing into the back of my head. "You can bring your friend along. You just have to keep up."

The vampires revved their bikes up and sped off as Michael resumed the seat on his and looked me over once again, "Do you want to come?"

How was I supposed to say no? I knew that I should, but my curiosity was getting the best of me, "You don't mind?"

"No, climb on," Michael smiled. _Why do I feel so… protective of her? I can't place it_… "I'll take you home after I, uh-"

"Try to win that girl over?" I smiled as I secured my bag over my shoulders and climbed on.

"How'd you know?"

"Women's intuition, I guess."

Michael nodded skeptically as I secured my arms around his waist, "Hold on."

I nodded as he sped off down the stairs and onto the beach behind them; the laughter from the vampires shot chills up my spine. I even caught Star smiling as her head turned to check that Michael was still there.

"Michael?" I said just loud enough for him to hear. "I need you to listen to me." I knew the peak was coming up soon, as they had just passed through the forest and the fog was getting heavy around them.

"Yeah?" He called back, instantly all ears.

"There's a ledge coming up," I said in a tone of full seriousness. "The others are going to fall back, and the leader is going to egg you on. When they fall back, you start to. Don't let him get to you."

"How do you…?" Michael's voice trailed off as we became neck and neck with David and Star, the former saying, "Come on!"

"Michael, _please_!" I pleaded with him.

He quickly slammed on the breaks, allowing us to stop upright, but still just feet from the edge.

David looked furious, "Have you been out here before?" He was obviously sure that Michael wouldn't have stopped until the last second. He expected him to have ended up an inch away from going over, not feet.

Michael turned and gave me a look, while I just shook my head, before hastily climbing off of the bike and barreling towards David, "What the hell are you doing, huh!"

Star screamed as Paul, Dwayne and Marko raced behind Michael, who promptly decked David across the face, "You could have killed us." His voice dropped as he pushed back and pointed a finger at him, "Just you. Come on, just you."

David, as well as the other boys, just smiled. He turned his eyes towards me, and I was grateful that they were masked in the darkness as a chill shot up my spine. With a smirk, turned back to Michael and chuckled, "How far are you willing to go, Michael?"

Michael stared stone faced as I wondered just what the hell I had gotten myself into.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"How did you know that?" Michael whispered as we began the descent down into the cave. "You know, about the bluff?"

"I can't tell you that…" I frowned, which once again caught Michael off guard.

_She could be my sister with that frown… It's so eerie_. He made a mental note to press the issue further later.

"Just stick close, okay?" He requested. "I feel like you're… my _responsibility_, or something?"

"Will do," I laughed as we entered the cave and my eyes widened at being able to put a real image to the one that had been told in stories.

David began telling the back story of it, which I already knew so I tuned him out. My eyes drifted down to my ring again, which was now a deep red. In an instant, my eyes traveled over the four boys, wanting to get close enough to each of them to see when my ring would burn at my skin.

"Marko, food!" The smallest of the boys quickly nodded and brushed past me as David dragged Michael off. My eyes widened for a moment, before I realized there was no change to the ring.

_Well, one down…_

Star looked over at me, but made no conversation as she drifted away as well.

I felt no ill will about it; I knew my mother had been _mind-fucked_ into submission at that point. She was already worried about Michael, she couldn't care for me; some girl she didn't know.

I sighed as I followed Michael and David, my hand grabbing lightly at the former's jacket. He shot me an encouraging smile as Paul passed over a joint to David, which quickly ended up in Michael's hands.

David grinned as Michael stared down at it, "You'll like it here."

David roamed off to take a seat as Michael took a hit and offered it to me; I had to suppress a laugh as I nodded and took a hit as well.

He'd be kicking himself for that one down the road.

I took a seat on the ledge beside Michael and couldn't help but smile as he stared past David at Star, "She's gorgeous."

"Yeah…" He whispered back with a small nod.

Marko began throwing food around and David graciously offered us each a carton. Michael shook his head, as did I, and David shot us each an amused smile and began another round of instigation.

Michael eventually grabbed the boxes and I had to look away as David asked, "How are those maggots?" Michael stared back blankly with a questioning look. "Maggots, Michael. You're eating maggots. How to they taste?"

He stared down with a laugh before doing a spit take past my boots and dropped the box to the ground as Star tried to speak up, "Leave him alone."

David turned his attention towards me, "How are your noodles?"

I cocked an eyebrow and put a smug grin across my lips, "That's not going to work. A little weed won't make me see worms." I lifted the chopsticks up from the box and happily shoved a bite into my mouth. "They're only _noodles_."

David scowled as he leaned back in the chair, "Who are you, anyways? You aren't from around here."

"I'm on vacation," I swiftly lied. "I thought I'd get some time alone before college in the fall."

"It's not smart to vacation alone in Santa Carla," Paul chimed in. "Murder capital of the world, and all."

"I'll take my chances," I shot back as I shoved the box into Michael's hands, assuring him it was safe to eat.

It wasn't long before the boys all introduced themselves, and I was free to use their names without fear of exposing too much knowledge.

Dwayne, having been silent thus far, finally spoke up, "Where are you going to college?"

"UCLA," I responded. "I'm going in for classes in acting and music."

"You play something?" Paul's interest was caught and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"The guitar quite well, and the piano a little," I nodded, remembering when Mom forced it on me. "I sing, mostly. My mother can't carry a tune, but my Dad got me into it when I was about 6. He plays guitar, so he'd always let me chime in."

"That's sweet," Michael commented, remembering how his Dad would do that with him.

I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as I just nodded.

"Sing us something," David said more like a command rather than a question. "If you're good enough to study it, I think we'd all like to hear." He made a motion towards Dwayne, who quickly grabbed Paul's guitar and handed it over. I frowned slightly as my ring stayed the same upon our fingers brushing; he seemed the most polite out of all of them.

It took me a moment to realize that I had been close enough to Paul as well, and I gave a sigh of internal relief. He seemed like someone I would regard more as a brother.

He was kind of a pig, from what I had noticed and heard.

That relief was short lived as I realized that there was only one person left.

My eyes met David's; full on, for the first time, and I held back a small shriek as I felt the skin under my ring sizzle.

_It would have to be him, wouldn't it?_

He was the one I had been fearful of it being. So, of course...

Maybe I should have listened to my parents and let it go. Especially with the way he was staring at me now.

I shook the thoughts away as I propped the guitar in my lap and quickly thought of the first song I could. It was funny that the first one in my mind was the one I was named for; the song Dad would sing me to sleep with on a frequent basis in my childhood.

I began strumming as I ignored the rapid beating in my heart and began a softer, acoustic melody.

_Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night  
>And wouldn't you love to love her?<br>Takes to the sky like a bird in flight  
>And who will be her lover?<em>

_All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind  
>Would you stay if she promised you heaven?<br>Will you ever win?_

_She is like a cat in the dark  
>And then she is the darkness<br>She rules her life like a fine skylark  
>And when the sky is starless<em>

_All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind  
>Would you stay if she promised you heaven?<br>Will you ever win?  
>Will you ever win?<em>

_Rhiannon  
>Rhiannon<br>Rhiannon  
>Rhiannon<em>

_She rings like a bell through the night  
>And wouldn't you love to love her?<br>She rules her life like a bird in flight  
>And who will be her lover?<em>

_All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind  
>Would you stay if she promised you heaven?<br>Will you ever win?  
>Will you ever win?<em>

_Rhiannon  
>Rhiannon<br>Rhiannon_

_Taken by  
>Taken by the sky<br>Taken by  
>Taken by the sky<br>Taken by  
>Taken by the sky<em>

_Dreams unwind  
>Love's a state of mind<br>Dreams unwind  
>Love's a state of mind<em>

"Are you happy now?" I smirked as I tossed the guitar to Paul, who caught it in midair with ease.

"You're good," Star mumbled from behind David.

Michael stared at me in amazement, "Better than I expected."

"I had a good teacher," I smiled as my eyes turned back to David.

He was watching me carefully as he motioned for Marko and whispered something in his ear. "I'm impressed," He finally acknowledged, as Paul and Dwayne muttered the same.

I had no time to respond as Marko came back out with a jeweled glass bottle and Star circled behind Michael with wide eyes.

David took a slow drink, looking instantly stronger and calmer. He leaned forwards towards Michael, "Drink some of this; be one of us."

He gave me a look that easily read, '_You're next_.'

I knew what was in that bottle.

I had known what was to come since I entered the cave.

It wasn't as if I could become a vampire now; the enchantress told me that.

I would return as a human to my time if I killed and became more than just a half.

I knew that it could come to this… I needed to get close to them without disrupting the natural order of things. For that reason, I couldn't tell Da – _Michael_ not to drink… I, however, could refuse it.

Did I want to, though?

I wanted to get to know David, the man who was supposed to be my perfect match in life.

This was the best way.

My eyes turned up as Michael stood to grab the bottle and the boys began chanting his name. Out of the corner of my vision, I caught Laddie scurrying away from the boys. I could faintly hear Star say that it was blood, before Michael gave her a snarky look and took a swig from the bottle, earning a cheer from the boys.

"What about you, gorgeous?" Paul hollered over the cheers.

Michael passed the wine my way and I wrinkled my nose at the rusty smell. How had my Dad been that much of a moron? This smelled nothing like wine.

I saw Laddie and Star exit the room with terrified looks on their faces and it about broke my heart.

"Yeah, sure," I ignored the burn of the liquid and the screaming of my brain as I drank and quickly shoved the bottle away when I was done.

The boys applauded as Marko began to wheel David around, chanting both of our names.

"You're one of us, guys," Paul clapped us both on the back as a party ensued around us.


	4. Chapter 4

I wasn't sure when we ended up on the bikes again.

I remembered hazy chanting and dancing, and the next thing I knew, we were speeding down train tracks.

My arms were clutched tightly around Dwayne's waist, my forehead pressed into his back between his shoulder blades. He helped me off as we parked and Michael's arm immediately found and snaked around my shoulders as he mouthed, "_Are you alright_?"

I nodded with a smile, which had been strongly forced onto my face.

David made a comment about _perfect timing_ as I perked up, "What's going on, David?"

"Rhiannon wants to know what's going on," David addressed to the group. "Marko, what's going on?"

"I don't know. What's going on, Paul?"

"Who wants to know?" Paul laughed.

"The newbies want to know!" Dwayne shot back.

"You all aren't funny," I grumbled under my breath.

David stepped between us and threw and arm over both of our shoulders, "I think we should tell them what's going on." He looked to Marko and said his name with a questioning tone.

Marko immediately smiled, "Goodnight, you two." He wiggled his fingers before dropping down off of the side of the tracks into nothingness.

Michael and I exchanged horrified looks as Paul took his place, disappearing after an utterance of, "Bottoms up, man."

Dwayne merely just pointed his hands out before following.

"Come with us, Michael," David clapped him on the shoulder before turning to me, "You two, _fighter_."

I cringed at the nickname that had once been only used by Dad.

Michael quickly dropped to his knees and we both let out relieved sighs as we saw that they were all hanging from bars under the tracks.

"Crazy fuckers…" I muttered as they let out noises of excitement and David yelled, "Come on down!"

"You never mentioned this," I spoke softly as I shot a hazy glare at the back of Michael's head.

"Hm?" Michael looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, his shaggy hair falling in his face.

"Oh, nothing," I shook my head as I climbed down after him, grateful for my upper body strength. I felt my stomach quiver as I held on to the bars overhead, my feet dangling over what seemed like endless fog.

_How high up are we, again?_

"Fun, huh?" David asked with a twinkle behind his eye as I finally looked back up, shocked at how dry his tone was.

_This is my soul mate? You've got to be joking._

The sounds of a train's horn immediately filled my ears and Michael and I shared a look of panic.

Paul and Marko joked around on the other end as I tried to block out the head splitting noise and focus on keeping my hands steady.

That was a bit of a challenge due to the rattling under them, of course.

"Jesus Christ!" Michael shrieked as Paul let go.

Marko laughed, "Don't be scared, Michael!" before falling as well. Dwayne finally lost his grip, and I couldn't hold back my inner terror any longer as tears pricked at my eyes without warning.

"You're one of us, Michael. Let go!" David yelled over the sounds above as Michael shouted back at him.

David turned to me with a wink, "You're one of **us**!"

Then he was gone.

"David!" We both yelled out as I felt one of my hands slipping, "Michael! I can't..."

"Just…" The train began to slow as Michael tried to lift himself up, inevitably failing at that task. His strength for that was gone. The sounds of cheering below us could be heard in the distance and we both shared a look of confusion before he spoke up, "On three."

I nodded as I clenched my eyes shut, "One, two…"

"Three!" Michael yelled as he grabbed my loose hand and we both fell towards the invisible earth.

I felt a stab of pain shoot through me and I immediately fell unconscious in the fog.

* * *

><p>"Mike, wake up! It's mom… whoa, who's that?"<p>

"Mom's home?" Michael responded groggily, ignoring the question at the end as Sam stated that she was on the phone sitting across his chest.

I covered my face slightly and quickly fumbled inside the bag beside me for a pair of sunglasses, letting out a sigh of relief as I found and pulled them on.

"What time is it?"

"2 o'clock."

I looked around, holding back a smile at the sight of my Uncle. He really did have the worst fashion sense back then... _now_.

Michael and I were sprawled out on his bed, fully clothed and laying opposite ways.

"You need sunglasses to talk on the phone?" Sam asked with a scoff. "Are you freebasing? Inquiring minds want to know… and who **is** the girl? That's not the one from the Boardwalk."

I dropped my voice to a whisper and introduced myself, the best I could, as Michael answered the phone. I covered by saying that we had been out too late for me to rent a motel room to stay in Santa Carla, so Mike offered to let me crash; I was just a friend helping him out with Star.

Sam nodded with a raised eyebrow and kept further comments to himself, minus a scoff at the idea that he needed a baby sitter according to the phone conversation going on between us.

Michael hung the phone up not long later after a grumbled, "_Okay, Mom_." He shoved the phone back to the side and instructed Sam to get out. Sam finally did after a death threat, and Michael turned his attention towards me for the first time, "Uh…"

"That's how I feel," I laughed nervously. "Do you remember getting back here? Cause all I remember is-"

"Falling?"

"Yeah…"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

**XXX**

"Michael!"

I came running down the stairs not long after my Great-Grandfather, someone I had only briefly known in my childhood, left.

He was a little crazy, but entertaining; I was instantly upset at missing out on having him around longer before his death when I was 7.

The house was loud and shaking, the revving of motorcycles echoed through it, "What's going on?"

Sam looked utterly afraid and yelled as Michael moved towards the door, and I quickly grabbed Sam's shoulders to hold him back.

As soon as Michael yanked the door open, silence and darkness returned to the house and he told Sam to go take his bath in an effort to give the two of us time to figure out what was happening.

Granted, **I **already knew… I just, for now, had to play like I didn't.

I shot Sam a reassuring look as he put on a smile and disappeared with Nanook on his heels.

Twenty minutes later, I realized I needed to get some air after listening to a cranky Michael mutter under his breath about conspiracy theories.

I slipped out of the back door with a pack of cigarettes and retreated off into the distance to settle down under a tree.

The pain didn't hit until I was half way through my cigarette. I pushed it to the back of my head at first, until I was doubled over on the ground with the cherry burning into my hand.

I could hear the sounds of rumbling in the house, but with my own problems, realized that I wouldn't be able to make it there in time.

A small scream escaped my lips as I stumbled up to my feet and entered the house in time to hear Sam shout at Michael, "My own brother! A goddamn, shit sucking vampire! You wait until mom hears about this, buddy!"

"Sammy, wait. **Sam**!"

Their shouting quickly overlapped one another's and I was able to make it to the stairs, literally having to crawl up them as doors began slamming shut.

"Sam, open the door!"

"Michael!" I managed to yell out as I collapsed at the top of the stairs, the burn mark across my palm sending a searing pain through it as it slammed below me.

Michael's attention turned and with wide eyes he lifted me into his arms and carried me into his room, kicking the door shut behind him before laying me down on the bed, "Are you okay?"

"I'm hurting," I managed to hiss out as I clutched at my stomach.

He noticed my hand and found something to wrap around each of our injured ones before clicking the light off and falling back on the bed next to me with a strained sigh.

We both had labored breathing at that point, and I could hear Michael's heart pounding in my ears as I struggled to drift off to sleep.

**XXX**

I wasn't sure how long I had been unconscious when I heard a groan from across the room and Michael saying my name repeatedly.

"What?" I grumbled out, my eyes still closed.

"Wake up!" He yelled out and I finally opened my eyes and let out a muffled scream as his hand clamped over my mouth.

We were both half way out of the window… _floating_.

"Fuck!"

I quickly grabbed hold of one of the beams on the side of the house as Michael drifted towards Sam's window with a phone in his hand, "Don't listen to him mom, he doesn't know what he's saying! Shut up, Sam!"

The next thing I heard was shrieking from Sam and my Grandmother through the phone.

"Open up!"

"You stay back!"

"Sammy, help us! Open up!" Michael yelled in fear as I struggled to move down beside him.

"Sam, open the window!" I yelled heavy panic lacing my voice. "**Please**!"

"You're both vampires! I knew it!"

"I am not!" Mike shrieked.

"So what are you? Some kind of flying nun!" Sam shot back as I screamed, my hands slipping from the beam.

Michael shot me a look of worry before turning back to the window, "I'm your brother! Help us! Sammy! Open up." Sam slowly moved towards the window to see the both of them clearly. "Please… Please!"

Sam finally opened the window and pulled Michael inside, who grabbed onto me and pulled me in and onto the floor on his other side.

"Thank you," I whispered as my body shook and Mike mumbled, "_We've got to stick together_" to the pair of us

"What about _her_?" Sam nodded towards me, and I had to suppress a hurt look.

It was hardest adjusting to this aspect of the past; where only my Dad seemed to care about my fate, despite having no clue why he did. No one else gave a damn.

"We've got to take care of her, too."

"Why?"

"I don't know… just, trust me."

Sam nodded reluctantly before adding, "What about Mom?"

We began coming up with a plan and minutes later I heard tires come to a skidding stop and the yelling of, "_Sam, Sam_!"

Sam sighed and moved up from the ground to disappear from the room, shooting one final look at the two of us huddled together on the floor.

"Come on," Michael whispered into my ear as we grabbed our coats and snuck out of the side door towards the garage.

Michael decided to go to the cave, but I quickly shook my head and asked to be dropped off at the Boardwalk; we could meet up later.

I knew only my Mom would be there. I didn't need to cock block my parents.

… _That_ was still creeping me out.


	5. Chapter 5

Michael dropped me off with a promise that he would be back to find me soon, and if he wasn't, what the best way to sneak up to his room from around back was.

I assured him that I would be fine on my own for a while and quickly headed off down the pier.

It didn't take much time to realize that I was too on edge to be around people.

I wanted to devour **everyone** that I saw.

…Especially this petite boy with long blue hair who reeked of vanilla and cinnamon even from yards away.

I quickly lit a cigarette to calm my nerves and settled down on a bench across from a mass amount of the shops and tried to lose myself in the act as I turned my attention to a group of hippies who made my nostrils want to close permanently.

At least I couldn't _smell_ them as much over the smoke trailing around my nose.

After a while, that lost its appeal as well and I ventured off down the deserted beach, unsurprised when a motorcycle pulled up beside me and a gruff voice spoke out, "You don't look so good."

"I wonder why," I scowled at David, feeling my finger burn sharply once again from the power of the ring.

"Rhiannon," He reached out and grabbed my arm before I shrugged him off. "Look at me."

I finally stopped walking and turned my body towards his, "What?"

"Get on." Once again, his tone was more like an order.

"I'm not Star," I snapped as my dark hair fanned out behind me in the wind. "I don't live in fear of you."

"Fine," David smirked as he looked me over again. "Get on the bike… _please_."

"I'm surprised you even know that word."

"So am I."

I raised an eyebrow into the air and let out a laugh as I was finally given the opportunity to take in his appearance.

Minus the bad 80's hair, he was… gorgeous. It was breathtaking, really, to look at him.

_This was bad. This was my soul mate._

**This** was me getting on the bike and wrapping myself around him as he sped off, "Where are the others?"

"Causing trouble," David said with no hint of emotion. It baffled me how easily he could do that; speak as if he just didn't care.

Most people at least carried some clue as to how they felt in their tones.

Ten minutes later I looked up to find that we were stopped in an open clearing of the woods right off of the beach.

"You've brought me to a secluded area in the woods?" I looked at him skeptically as he helped me off of the bike; a rare moment of chivalry. "Should I be afraid?"

"Not at all," David smirked as he eyed me once again. "I just know that the boys know better than to bother me when I'm out here and I wanted to talk to you."

"…About what?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"You," He said in a firm voice as he sat down under a large tree and pulled me down in front of him. "You intrigue me."

"How so?" I laughed as I pulled my knees up to my chest.

"You just… seem different," He noted through narrowed eyes. "I feel like you have some vast knowledge that you are keeping to yourself."

"Maybe I do," I joked, as I fought to control my nerves. "You'll never know."

"I'm not so sure about that," David breathed out as he brushed a curl away from my face and felt me trembled slightly under his touch. He grinned as I leaned my cheek into his palm, my eyes shut and breathing slow. "I think you'll tell me soon enough."

I finally opened my eyes and moved back out of his reach, shaking my head at how foolish I was being, "I can't."

"So, there is _something_…" David shrugged out of his trench coat and cocked his head to the side. "Why can't you tell me?"

"I just can't! Okay?" I shouted without meaning to. My emotions were on high and I couldn't really control it. "Sorry. Just… don't push it."

"People don't talk to me like that," David glared as his eyes seemed to flash dark before me, a threat in their own right.

"You'll get over it," I snarled back.

I was being a bitch to a vampire.

Yes, I _did_ have a death wish, apparently.

Before I had a chance to apologize for my tone, he had me pinned backwards to the ground. My wrists were trapped over my head by only one of his hands, while the other loosely grasped me face.

"Get off of me, David," I writhed under him for a moment before realizing it was a lost cause.

He shook his head as he lowered his lips to my neck and breathed in my scent deeply, "I don't think you really want me to, Rhiannon…" My breath hitched in my throat as his lips grazed my neck. "I _know_ you don't want me to."

The truth was I didn't. I **couldn't **want him to.

The _fucking _ring on my finger was preventing that.

My body had waited 18 years for its counterpart and it wasn't going to relent just because I didn't want to get attached. My hormones could give a shit less that he was a vampire who, by history's standards, would die soon…

"Oh, fuck it," I groaned as I turned my head and pressed my lips onto his with all the strength that I could manage. My hands wiggled out of his grip and slid down to his back so that I could grip his shirt in my hands, while his pressed down against my hips, fingers digging against the bone.

I knew that the skin would be bruised the next day.

The following hours of the night were filled with senseless passion, torn skin and bloodied kisses.

My body ached for him, and he was quick to give me his full devotion.

It wasn't what I imagined, by a long shot.

It was painful and rough.

However, in its own way, it was _perfect_.

Now, I just had to find a way to keep him…

* * *

><p><strong>I hate asking, but please review. I'd like to know how I'm doing so far. :)<br>Also, I'm up to accepting suggestions for any scenes you would like to see that aren't in the movie (as in the one above). I'll try to incorporate anything that I can to make my readers happy (to an extent, of course)!  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

I woke the next afternoon in Michael's bed with no recollection of how I got there.

I was dressed, though my clothes were disheveled and I could feel my sweat soaked hair matted to my head.

I rolled over onto my side, grateful that the sun was setting to spare my eyes.

Michael was sitting on a chair across the room, his hair wet and his skin shallow.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked with a wince as I sat up and rubbed gently at my abdomen.

"I'm not sure…" He answered truthfully. "What time did you get in?"

I shrugged as I let out a few small coughs, "When did _you_ get back?"

"This morning," A small smirk broke out on his face. "I went to see Star, and uh -"

"Spare me the details," I held up a hand as I laughed, fighting back a mental image. "I get it. Good for you."

"It was strange, everything," He mumbled under his breath as I caught him looking at his hand, which was no longer sporting a bite mark from Nanook. He looked back up with a shake of his head. "What did you get up to?"

I scrunched my face up as I looked down at my body, eyes widening at the lack of marks that I was sure were there the night before, "Huh… oh, uh… David found me."

"What happened?" He immediately perked up, his expression turning to disbelief at the look on mine seconds later. "You… and _him_? Really?"

"It's not like I planned it." _Well, not really._

"Be careful with him, okay?" His _father voice_ came out, though he didn't even know it. "Something weird is going on."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

* * *

><p>"Who was at the door?"<p>

I was waiting at the end of the driveway with Mike's bike. I had shimmied down the side of the house again while he had exited through the front door. I saw a car pull down the driveway from where I was waiting in the shadows, but couldn't see much in the dark, surprisingly enough.

"My mom's new boyfriend, Max," Michael almost growled.

I fought to hold back an expression. _That_ was Max?

I had forgotten about him… I didn't even know what I was doing anymore.

I just needed to let life play out, that was all.

It was proving problematic.

"How is he?" I asked casually.

"He looked like a bit of a tool, really," Michael shrugged as he kicked the bike to life. "We need to take care of something."

I nodded as I gripped his waist, his high temperament starting to rub off on me; irritability at its worst.

We went by the caves first and found them empty, which had Mike in a rage. Star should have been there for him, for _us_.

Though my Mom hadn't addressed me personally in the one time I saw her, I desperately wanted to see her again.

We were never as close as Dad and I were, but that was irrelevant.

She was my _blood_, after all.

When she wasn't there, David was his next target.

**xxx**

He slammed his bike to a stop once we reached the beach, his eyes locked on where he saw the boys in the distance. "Michael! Hey, wait!" I chased after him, cringing as he pulled Marko out of the way and he and David practically grabbed at each other's throats.

"Where is she?" Michael's voice was sharp.

It sent a chill of fear down my spine. It wasn't a tone that I was used to.

David blew a gust of smoke from his cigarette into Mike's face and chuckled, "Take it easy, Michael."

"Where's Star, David?"

"Michael… if you ever want to see Star again, you better come with us now."

* * *

><p>The boys stopped the bikes at the edge of a hill, behind a large tree on the edge of a part of the beach Michael and I weren't familiar with.<p>

David, Marko, Dwayne and Paul immediately ran and latched themselves up into the short tree ahead of us, all looking like they were eager for a fight.

I looked on curiously and instantly recognized the two men that had given me a hard time when I first showed up on the Boardwalk just days before.

David shot a look back at me and I knew that it wasn't a coincidence.

My heart was pounding all the way in my head as I slumped down at the base of the tree, my chest heaving violently. I heard David say Michael's name and my head slowly turned backwards to see him looking as ragged and terrifying as I did.

It made my insides rage even further.

_Why hadn't I tried to prevent it? Fear… yeah, that was it._

"You don't want to miss this," David's rough voice rang out again as Marko giggled.

Michael climbed off of his motorcycle and ran directly up into the tree, sitting down between the branches behind me. We both turned our attention back to the drunk, rowdy group in the distance.

"Initiation's over," David stated in a harsh tone. "It's time to join the club."

My jaw dropped as I looked upwards at the laughing boys, who now had fangs and bigger laughs than before.

My hands gripped at the ground below me as I felt Michael clutch tighter to the tree, our heads swimming once again.

David's face twisted and before I knew it, the four were flying off towards the party.

"Michael…" I whispered as I bit down on my bottom lip, drawing a trickle of blood from it.

Screams immediately filled the air, along with the rusty smell of blood.

It was like a car crash. It was awful, but I couldn't bear to look away.

I was getting the blood lust; it was filling me up and I was fighting everything in me not to rush forward and help Paul tear that guys scalp off…

David began calling our names and I pushed myself backwards into the truck of the tree, my nearly bare back scraping at the trunk.

_I can't give in. I'll die… I can't fix things if I die._

I could feel the hunger tearing at me from the inside as my eyes throbbed and burned. I looked up to find Michael as he let out a scream before he began rolling backwards down the hill towards the bikes.

It took a few beats before I was able to tear myself from the scene at the fire to slide around and down to him. I nestled myself behind him and helped him to sit up, the wind blowing the sand around our tense figures.

Moments later, David and the boys came over the hill. They were all doused in blood, most with devilish smirks on their faces.

They looked completely _feral_.

"So," David began with a sharp intake of unneeded air. "Now you know what we are; now you know what **you** are." Michael looked back at me in disbelief as David continued. "Rhiannon, Michael… you'll never grow old, and you'll never die. But, you must _feed_."

His mouth tensed up, looking as if he was ready to rip someone else open by just saying the word.

They all began to laugh again as Michael dropped his head against my shoulder and I let my eyes fall closed, almost hoping that it was all a bad dream.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ah!" Sam yelled as he closed his closet door and found Michael and I standing in the corner, both of us covered in sand and sweat.

Our bodies were on overdrive and I had to lean against Michael for support.

"It's okay," Mike whispered as his eyes softened at his brother. "We know who we are now, Sam."

"Don't kill me," Sam held up a hand towards them. "I'm basically a good kid, so just don't kill me." I made a move to speak, my face pained, before being cut off. "I can help you; just tell me who the head vampire is. I thought it was Max, but I was wrong. Just work with me, and I can help you and you'll be okay."

I was almost at the point of no return, ready to say that Max was the head vampire, as we heard a soft voice yell out Michael's name from outside.

He quickly pushed the windows open as Sam asked if _she_ was one of them.

My attention was easily grasped.

"I have to talk to you, can I come up?" Star shouted and I wanted to yell yes, just so that I could see my mother.

Instead, Michael yelled, "No!" and cautioned Sam to close the window and lock the door.

I was able to get out, "I'll stay with him," before a gust of wind blew through the room and Star was standing just inside of the window.

"She's one of them!" Sam yelled as he dove backwards into me, leaving both of us unsure of why he was seeking me for comfort as he used me as a human shield. "And don't tell me it doesn't make her a bad person, Mike!"

"You know where David took us tonight, don't you, Star?" Michael clenched his hands at his sides.

"Who's David?" Sam asked me, as I just shushed him and told him not to worry about it right then.

Star began an apology as she neared Michael, his face skeptical as he finally realized that they drank blood and not wine that night in the cave.

He was just mistakenly assuming it was David's blood, not Max's.

"You drank someone's blood? Are you crazy!" Sam screamed.

I gave him a dirty look and hissed at him, "Not the time, Sam."

"I'm just like David now, Star," Michael had a twisted look on his face that I couldn't help but want to slap off of him.

"No, you're not!" She countered. "You both… you're like Laddie and me. We're not one of them-"

"-Until you make your first kill!"

"Sam, shut up!" I glared as my eyes flashed yellow.

"Why didn't you kill me last night?" Michael asked.

I couldn't help but wonder the same thing about David.

"You were supposed to be my first," Star replied with a blank expression. "That's what David wanted… But, I couldn't, Michael."

"Why?" His face turned up in a sneer. "Because you care _so much_ about me?"

"Yes, I do." She pressed her hand to his cheek, which he roughly pushed away. I had to turn away from the rest of the conversation, unable to see my mother crying. It would have pushed me over the edge. I wasn't supposed to reveal myself. It didn't help that Michael's emotions were turning him into a, well… huge _prick_. "I was hoping you'd help Laddie and me."

I turned at the sound of Michael's laughing as Star disappeared back out of the window, "Star!"

I turned on Michael with a growl, "You complete ass!"

Michael frowned, but his attention was quickly captured by Sam, who was diving for the phone, "What are you doing?"

"I've got connections."

* * *

><p>I knew what was coming. I knew that the climax to the story was near.<p>

I also knew that David could have ordered me to be killed, but he **didn't**.

"Sam? Sam!" I hissed into his ear and watched as he jerked backwards away from me as he woke up, confused. "I need you to listen to me."

"This couldn't wait?" He asked with a yawn. "We have a big day tomorrow."

"No," I shook my head with a sharp look on my face. "I _really_ need you to listen to me…"

"What?" Sam sat up, bothered and concerned by the look that I was giving. "What is it?"

"David's not the head vampire."

"How do you-"

"Don't ask questions," I shook my head. I was already meddling. "You can go get Star and Laddie tomorrow morning, by all means. Just… none of them are the head vampire."

"Okay, so who-"

I was gone before he could finish the question.

* * *

><p>"David!" I yelled as she stormed through the woods. "David!"<p>

I had gone by the cave and down the Boardwalk, both to no avail. Sunrise was in a few hours, and I needed to be back before Michael noticed I was missing.

"I thought you might come looking for me," David stepped out with a grin. "Have fun tonight?"

I snarled as I stepped forward and sent my palm colliding with his cheek, "Don't be an ass."

He rubbed the spot gently as he sneered, "Is that all you wanted?"

"No," I frowned. "I wanted to know why you didn't just kill me. You wanted Star to kill Michael, I'm sure." I didn't want to completely blow this for her. "Why didn't you kill _me_?"

David straightened his posture and matched my expression, "Why does it matter?"

"I've already told you that there are things that I can't tell you, David," I shook my head, my eyes instantly going softer.

"That doesn't seem like a fair trade."

"Why are you being difficult?"

"Why didn't you feed?" David shot back, instantly catching me off guard.

"I – I can't…" I mumbled.

"Then maybe I should just kill you," David grabbed me by the waist and slammed my back up against a tree, ignoring as I let out a cry of pain. "You want to know why I didn't kill you. It's because I felt connected to you; that's something I haven't felt in a long time. But, if you won't feed, you're of no use to me."

_My fucking half-vampire hormones took over._

"Get the fuck off me," I scowled as I pushed myself free and set off back towards the path.

My eyes were glossy as I looked back over my shoulder with a quiet murmur of, "If you don't care to learn and trust me, then I hope you _burn_."


	8. Chapter 8

I got in the car with Michael, Sam, Edgar and Alan the next morning.

The Frog Brothers immediately dubbed me as the Princess of the Underworld, due to my _bright and shining_ demeanor.

The sarcasm was **not** appreciated.

I had a strong urge to bite them after they kept threatening me with holy water and a freshly sharpened stake.

It took all of my will to not make one of them my first kill.

By the time we got to the cave, however, I was asleep in the back of the car, unable to be woken up as I drifted between different nightmares.

I was the only one I had ever known that slept more peacefully with chaos going on inside my head.

The next thing I knew, I was being carried into the house by Sam who was, as well as the Frog Brothers, covered in dirt and goo. "What's going on?" I mumbled as I was passed into another set of arms.

"We staked the little one," Edgar said proudly as he slammed my legs into a wall as we turned a corner, uncaring of my personal welfare.

"I told Sam that _they_ weren't…" I grumbled, still mostly asleep.

I couldn't get another word out before I was dumped on the floor and back asleep resting in the crook of Michael's arm, while Laddie and Star were asleep on the bed.

* * *

><p>I stormed out in a rage as I woke up an hour and a half before sundown, finding that the house was being vampire proofed and they had killed Marko.<p>

_I warned Sam! I told him…_

He hadn't been the one to stake him, in hindsight. It was those fucking _Frog_ brothers.

Apparently, he had even tried to stop them.

That didn't matter now.

I quickly pushed a cigarette between my lips and fell into a ball on the ground outside the back door. No one would even listen to me as I tried to get them to stop.

Michael just stated that they "_would be coming for all of them, and they had to be prepared_."

I wasn't ready.

I wasn't prepared to watch David die, especially since _my_ father would be the one to kill him.

_How do you choose between a man you grew up loving, and one you were always destined to?_

I had told myself that I was just coming to meet him; to know what it was that I was going to live without.

David was an ass, anyone could attest to that. But, I sensed something deeper in him. Something to say why he was the way he was. He had been forced to be that way. He had been without companionship for so long, disregarding that of his brothers.

_One_ of which had already been taken from him.

I had to stop it. I needed him in my future, bad and all.

What else would I have? There would be no love for me there, except for those who hadn't found their other halves and those who had lost them to death.

That was no way to live.

I couldn't tell the truth… but, I had to.

* * *

><p>"We can stop this!" I tried to plead one last time to Michael and Star. "We can try - "<p>

"No!" Alan cut me off as he pointed the gun filled with holy water at my face. "You're with us, or we kill you."

"I'd like to see you try, you little fuck," I growled as my back arched. "I could take you down before you even had a chance to blink."

"Alan, come on," Sam pulled him towards Edgar, who was staring at me with the same amount of hatred as his brother.

"I'm sorry," Michael shook his head. "We can't."

"I'll never forgive this," I muttered as I stormed out of the room towards the kitchen. My hands were shaking as I slammed them against the refrigerator door and caused a small dent to appear under one of them.

I turned around in a huff and grabbed my purse off of the table, resigning in my mind that I couldn't be around to deal with what was to come.

I swiftly slipped the strap across my chest and froze as I saw the glimmer of metal where my bag was seconds before and my eyes widened.

_The key to Michael's motorcycle._

Michael still had the bike hidden away in the garage in my time. He took me out on it a few times when I was younger. I knew that piece of machinery like I knew the back of my hand.

It probably helped that I snuck it out a few times when I was 16 so I could get the feel of riding on my own.

I wasn't very good, but I could get from one place to another with very few problems.

After a few moments of internal debate, I plucked the keys off of the counter and slid out of the house without a word.

I was careful to sneak around to the garage, making sure that I couldn't be seen through any windows that the shutters had yet to be closed on.

Minutes later, I had managed to do just that and I found myself wheeling the motorcycle down the gravel driveway. Once I was at the street, and far from view of the house, I took my position on the seat and let the bike roar to life.

My mind was made up…

I had to take veer away from my original motives. I couldn't let anyone else die.


	9. Chapter 9

"David! Dwayne! Paul!"

I stumbled into the cave mere minutes before sunset was due to hit. My left arm was bloodied and I had a gash on my forehead from wrecking the motorcycle twice on the way over.

It hadn't helped that I fell down the last few steps into the cave and crashed my hip into the rough stone wall.

I desperately wished that I could heal faster.

My legs finally gave out as I reached the stone fountain, and I cast my eyes backwards to see the last traces of sunlight fade away, "David! Please! I need to talk to you!"

I desperately wished for David when Paul was the first to find me.

"Bitch."

A scream erupted from my lips as I was sent sailing across the cave. My body crashed against a far wall before being thrown back through the canopy frame of Star's bed, "Fuck… Stop, _please_!"

Paul's hand closed around my throat as he pulled me from the bed and pinned me to the floor. His face was twisted in anguish as I clawed at his hand for some feeling of release as he simply said, "Marko."

"I tried – I didn't – " I could barely get out as I felt myself slipping to the edges of consciousness.

"Paul, let her go."

My head drooped down as I saw Dwayne and David standing to the side, the words having come from the former's mouth.

"It's her fault."

Dwayne gave a slight shake of his head, "If it was, would she have come back?"

With a hiss and a final crushing squeeze, Paul pushed himself backwards.

Taking a deep breath, I scrambled backwards and pushed my spine against the wall behind me. I pressed a few tender fingers to my throat and let out a wince; I was certain that there were bruise marks coating the small area of skin.

I tensed as I felt the three sets of eyes burning holes into me, and it took all of my willpower to look up to meet them, "I'm sorry. I didn't want Marko to die. I knew, and I tried and…" A few tears slipped out from my cold eyes. "Sam didn't listen. The rest of them aren't listening. It's all going according to plan and it's wrong."

"I think she's losing it," Paul muttered, half under his breath.

"I hate to do this, but I agree with him," Dwayne shot a look to David, who was as stone faced as ever.

"I wasn't supposed to try to change it. I was supposed to let them kill all of you. I was supposed to sit by and watch it." Paul was right; I was breaking. The stress was eating at my sanity. "Mom hates all of you, but I think Daddy would understand. He wants me to be happy. If you die, I can't be happy. You don't have to die. Only the head vampire has to go. Only Max needs to die – "

David was in front of me in a flash, his hands gripping my cheeks as he forced me to face him, "How do you know about _Max_?"

"You knew I had secrets, David," I whispered back with hazy eyes. "I wasn't supposed to tell you my secrets. The enchantress said that I shouldn't meddle with time, not that I couldn't." My eyes traveled down to the ring that was sizzling against my skin. "I had to come back to meet you. This is all because of us."

"Why does Max need to die, Rhiannon?" David was doing his best at attempting a soft voice for me, in fear that I was losing my mind.

I let out a chuckle after chewing down on my bottom lip, which I ripped open in accident, "His life is tied to mine. If he lives, I die. If he dies, I can be born." I turned my eyes back up. "I'm not from here, David. Surely you've suspected."

"What I've suspected isn't possible," David said through gritted teeth.

"What's going on?" Paul asked with a hesitant step forward.

"You're all vampires," I breathed out. "You should already believe in the impossible."

"Rhiannon…" Dwayne was the first to fully believe that there was a supernatural occurrence in their presence, though he couldn't place what it was exactly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rhiannon," I shrugged as David removed his hands from my face. "I'm just an 18 year old girl with a strange family history." I turned down to the purse in my lap and worked my hand inside of it for a moment before pulling out a piece of folded, photo quality paper. My fingers traced over grooves on the blank, exposed side as I smiled inwardly before pushing it into David's hands. "Sometimes you have to see before you can hear. I suppose you will all be quicker to believe than the rest of them, though."

Paul and Dwayne moved to kneel behind David as he opened the folded photo and silence fell across the cave once again.

"What the fuck…"

I stood in the center of the photo, which was dated about three years prior according to the banner hanging in the background. My hair was blowing wildly around me in the windy, beach air. Michael and Star were on either side of me, Laddie and Sam to the sides of them. We were all wearing swim attire and bright smiles as we basked in the glow of the sun.

"This can't be real."

"You're _their_ child?"

I chuckled with a nod at Dwayne's question, "I have my Mom's looks and my Dad's personality, or so I'm told."

"If…" David began with a hard voice. "If this is true, why are you here? Why aren't you at home, in your time, with _Mommy and Daddy_?"

I didn't need to look at him as I answered with a small, "You."

Silence filled the air as I looked down at my ring, which was burning ferociously in the dim cave, "Do you see this? This is a law in my time."

"A piece of jewelry?"

"It's more than that," I grimaced. "It's a ring that alerts you to the presence of your soul mate. It burns red when you are in their company." I pulled it off with a grunt as I finally pushed myself back to my feet and I strode over to the three vampires, extending the piece of now black metal to Dwayne. "Try it."

Dwayne slipped it on his smallest finger and saw no change. "Give it to Paul." The normally outspoken vampire took it without hesitation, silent as it stayed black on him as well. "Now, David."

David raised an eyebrow as he slipped the ring on, and pulled it off just as quickly with a hiss and a loud, "Fuck!"

A red mark was now visible on his finger, and the ring shifted from fire to darkness as it clattered to the ground.

I sighed as I lifted up the metal and slipped it onto my finger, "It's a pain that you get used to." I had a permanent scar on my own finger from what it had caused from the past few days.

I perched myself against a wall as I went into my tale, "I turned 18 and I had yet to meet my soul mate. I found out it was one of you, and they gave me a potion to send me back." I paused for a moment with a shallow breath. "Mom and Daddy, they didn't want me to come. I think… I think Dad knew that I would save you from dying tonight, or at least try. I wasn't supposed to. I was just supposed to see what I would be missing out on."

I took the photo back into my own hands from David's and pressed it down into my bag. My hand banged against a cold piece of glass and I froze at the feeling of the unfamiliar object. With a small twist of my wrist, I clasped it in my palm and pulled it out with a gasp.

This was new.

"What the hell…" I muttered to myself as I lifted the vial into the air and watched a shimmering black liquid float around inside. There were markings around the glass, which upon closer examination was words twisting into the vial.

**To bring only one back from death.**

I wasn't sure what to think. This… The Enchantresses had more power than anyone knew. Did they have enough to send things where they didn't belong?

Could I really save one?

My eyes shot up in a hurry, burning in a flame of realization.

"Where's Marko's body?"

* * *

><p><strong>I have plans for Marko. I couldn't just let him go permanently, now could I? :)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

David and I were the only ones left in the cave after I brought Marko back from the permanent state of death he had been in.

All it took was pouring the vial over his heart, and a few gulps of Max's blood from the jeweled bottle before he leapt into the air with an overly feral look about him.

He was now outside with Dwayne and Paul, who were filling him in on what had gone down after they had - _not so discretely_ - returned Michael's bike to his home.

It seemed that they all believed me now.

David was sitting as stoic as a statue in one of the ratty arm chairs in the cave, his eyes focused away from mine in thought.

"David…" I whispered as I moved closer to him, kneeling down so that my chin was resting against his knees. "Will you please look at me, even if you won't speak?"

"You saved my brothers and me," David finally spoke as he turned his eyes down to meet mine. "I'm not one to normally show thanks to anyone – "

"I don't need thanks," I cut him off with a frown. "I just need to know that you could care for me the way that you were destined to. I need to know who's life you value more – your soul mates, or your sire's."

"I don't have the _ability_ to love, Rhiannon."

"You don't _have_ to love me," I said with a hurt voice. "You just have to choose me. I'm yours – _no one else's_. You'll never have to worry that I will leave you or – or anything. My decision is to be with you; what's yours?"

"First, I have a question for you," David stated in his usually hard voice. I gave him a nod to continue. I would answer anything for him at that point. "What's the real reason that you didn't feed when you were given the chance? Do you not want to be one of us?"

"If I feed, then my body dies. If my body dies, then I go back to my own time. I couldn't kill anyone _then_," I clasped my hands down harder against his legs to ensure that I had his full attention. "I have no reservations against becoming like you. I would have to in order to be with you for eternity. That's a sacrifice that I am more than willing to make."

"You'd be willing to die to be with me?" David asked with a look of disbelief.

"Yes, I would die for you," I answered in the most determined of voices. "After what happened with Marko, I would _kill_ for you as well."

Without uttering another word, David leaned forward and grasped my face in the hand that was not burned by the sun earlier in the day. He searched my eyes for a moment, and after he seemed satisfied with what he saw there, he pressed his lips to mine.

We had already had sex, but the emotion that was built up in that kiss was full of more fire than anything I had ever felt.

I couldn't deny it any longer.

I loved David.

He didn't need to love me. I could _deal_ with that. But, I loved him.

I would fight with everything in me to be his for the rest of my existence.

"We have to kill Max."

I was brought back to a present state of mind at the sound of his voice, "I know how it was supposed to happen, but things have changed. I – I don't know now…"

"I do."

* * *

><p>I clutched onto David's waist as we zoomed down the beach towards the boardwalk. I had called Michael from a payphone and asked him to bring everyone and meet us there.<p>

The tone he took with me was not one of Michael; it was a tone of a parent.

"_Fuck, Rhiannon. Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how angry I am? How could you leave? How could you have been so stupid?_"

Despite his words, I desperately missed my Dad. I couldn't wait to be back home and in his comforting arms.

We pulled up to where Star, Laddie, the Emerson boys and the Frog brothers were waiting just moments later. It was just off of a crowded part of the boardwalk; far enough to talk but close enough to where no one would dare to act on their violent impulses.

I released my hold on David as we came to a sudden halt and Dwayne, Paul and Marko slid in beside us.

Edgar froze as Marko looked at him with a smirk, "I... I staked you."

"It didn't stick," Paul laughed with a glare in his eyes.

"H – _How_?" Star spoke up, a rare occasion of all being able to hear her voice.

"Rhiannon brought him back," David declared as he helped me off of his bike and slipped an arm around my waist with a smirk.

"Witch!" Alan grunted with a pointed finger.

I gave him a small sneer, "I'm not a witch, you moron."

"What are you, then?" Sam asked as he lingered halfway behind Michael.

"I'm a…" I took a small pause before I finished. These words just sounded so farfetched, regardless of how true they were. "… time traveler, sent by a witch with a penchant for potions, if you need to know." I held a hand up as one of the Frog's was about to speak. "I know it sounds crazy. However, you're here because of vampires. What makes witches so much different when it all boils down?"

"Okay, well…" Michael began with a strange look on his face. "If we believe that's what you are, then I want to know _who_ you are."

Paul let out a booming laugh, "She's – "

Dwayne slammed a hand over his brother's mouth, "That's hers to tell, not yours."

I stepped forward and out of David's hold as I crossed the invisible barrier between the two groups. I stood across from Michael and Star as I brushed my curled hair back from my face, "My name is Rhiannon Emerson."

I expected Michael to be the first to speak, but it was Star that broke the silence, "How… what year…?"

"2012."

Star's eyes softened in an instant.

Mom told me in passing that should she find out, she would probably be quick to believe. She had seen so many things since the Lost Boys had taken hold of her… this would be something that wouldn't have fazed her.

Star stepped forward so that we were toe to toe and she looked down at me with her head cocked to the side. Her eyes scanned over every detail of me without a word being spoken.

Minus a few features that I had inherited from Michael, we could have been sisters.

This didn't go unnoticed.

"25 years," Star mused quietly as she reached out to brush a finger across my cheekbone. Her eyes locked with mine as realization finally hit her. "I don't think I have even spoken to you."

"It's okay," I shrugged with a small laugh. "You told me that you probably wouldn't."

"I am so sorry…" Star breathed out as she wrapped her bangled arms around my shoulders in a hug that I desperately craved.

"_It's okay, Mom_," I whispered just loud enough for only her to hear. She tensed for a moment before pressing a kiss to my cheek and pulling backwards.

That was when I noticed that Michael's eyes had not left me.

He understood.

He understood why he felt so protective of me upon our first encounter. Why he kept me safe.

Michael understood that, to me, he was not just Michael.

My _blood_ was his.

He quickly moved into the spot that Star had been in and placed his hands on my shoulders, "I don't know if I believe this."

"Yes, you do," I chuckled softly as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "You have to believe in this… in me. Otherwise, we're all fucked."

"Do I let you talk like that in your time?" Michael teased as he squeezed my shoulder with his left hand.

"No, but… right now we're the same age. I think I can get away a bit more."

"True," Michael nodded with a laugh as he brought me to his chest in a hug. I quickly melted against his touch as a shallow, shaking breath escaped my lips. This was what I needed. "I believe in you, Rhiannon."

"Okay, hold up!" Sam stepped forward with his hands dramatically thrown in the air. "You're all telling me that this is my… _niece_? Is everyone here high?"

I pulled out of Michael's hold and pulled the photograph back out of my purse, "I should have handed this over earlier, _Uncle Sammy_."

Sam flinched as I threw the photo towards him, but caught it before it hit the ground. His eyes flickered down to his hands as he unfolded it, "Oh." Michael and Star were next to move up beside him, Laddie at her hip, while the Frog brothers maintained their distance with bitter faces and uneasy glances towards me and the vampires flanked behind me. "Well, uh…"

Michael smirked as he clasped Sam on the shoulder, while Star looked from Laddie to the older boy in the photo as realization set in. Her eyes glazed over in tears as she looked up to meet mine and I gave her a small nod to confirm her thoughts.

"We're listening."


	11. Chapter 11

I sat pressed between Michael and Star on her bed in the cave with my head resting against the former's shoulder.

David, Marko, Dwayne and Paul were asleep deeper in the bowels of the cavern, while Laddie was curled up with his head resting in Star's lap – _who kept nodding off herself_.

Sam was outside with the Frog's; neither David nor I were allowing the brothers inside, and Sam had offered to keep an eye on them.

Sam wasn't entirely on board with leaving the vampires alive, but he had relented at the threats and pleading from his older brother.

He wasn't going to act on _complete_ defiance.

My head was throbbing from a lack of sleep, but I didn't have the luxury to rest then. Sunset was soon. I needed to be ready.

"Hey, come on."

My head shot up at the sound of Michael's voice. He shifted from under my weight and slid off of the bed. I shot a glance towards Star and Laddie, who both looked dead to the world – _no pun intended_. With a silent nod, I pushed myself away from them and followed him to the other side of the cave to sit down on the edge of the stone fountain, "What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you without waking her up," Michael smiled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

It was such a simple action, but Michael's touch was worth so much to me.

"What do you want to talk about?" I said as I turned my eyes up to meet his. "You've been pretty quiet since last night… well, this morning, technically."

"You're my daughter."

I tensed. It was the first time he had said the words out loud, "I am."

Michael released me from his grasp so that he could turn and we were completely facing one another, "Am I a good dad? I mean… are you happy – you know, _aside_ from all of this soul mate business?"

I frowned just slightly – I knew where this was coming from. He wanted to know if he was anything like Grandfather – his father, a man that I never met. I took his hands in mine and gave him a small nod, "You are the best Dad that I could have ever asked for. So much of who I am is because of you." Michael finally broke a smile at that. "I love you and Mom so very much. And let's keep this between us, but _you're_ my favorite." I winked as he chuckled and brought me in for a hug.

"I barely know you, but…" Michael paused as he tried to find the right words. "I'm already so impressed by you."

I bowed my head with a tight smile, "All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me. How you viewed me mattered more than anything." A small chuckle left my lips. "I'm an only child. I liked it that way, but… I think I always had something extra to prove. I wanted you to always feel like one was enough."

Michael tilted my head up with his forefinger, "I can already tell that you are."

"Thank you," I breathed out with a shaky voice. "That really does mean a lot to me."

We were silent for a while after that.

That is, until tears started pouring from my eyes without warning. Michael tensed as he felt water droplets graze the back of his hand and he looked down with a startled glance, "What is it, Rhi?"

"I need you to promise me something," I whispered out as I met his eyes. He gave a small, silent nod. "Promise me that you and Mom – _Star_ – will stay safe tonight. I don't know what's going to happen anymore. If either one of you…" I let out a rough cough. "I don't want this to all be for nothing."

"Don't you worry about us," Michael commanded of me. "We are all going to come out of this alive."

"Well, maybe not _all_ of us," I chuckled under my breath as my eyes traveled over to the opening of the cave, which was starting to darken. "As long as the ones that matter are safe, that's all I ask."

Michael gave me a knowing look, but kept further comments to himself as images of Edgar's throat clasped in my hand passed through my mind, "How much longer are you here?"

I rolled by bottom lip between my teeth. I hadn't told them that there were only two ways to send me back to my time; divine intervention or death. It didn't seem necessary to mention the latter of the two, "When this is all done, I'll be called back home."

"Will you have time to say goodbye?"

I gave a soft smile, "Of course." I pressed a kiss to Michael's cheek in time for a gust of wind to zoom around us.

The boys were awake.

Michael, after a lingering look towards me, moved over to Star and Laddie to prepare them for what was to come.

Paul and Marko came barreling out of the caverns in a fit of brotherly punching and laughter. Dwayne emerged shortly after, shaking his head at the antics of his younger brothers. David, of course, was last.

I wondered if my head would swim every time I set my eyes on him.

"Are you sure that you're willing to do this?" I asked as I made my way over to David.

David smirked as he slipped an arm around my waist, "If I wasn't, you and everyone else would be dead already."

I scowled with a roll of my eyes, "Well, that's comforting."

David pressed a kiss to my cheek – which was the first sweet action I had ever witnessed from him – before moving away and towards his brothers.

"It's time."

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter is mostly just a filler. Sorry. The real fun is coming next.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

The vampires walked into Max's video store about two hours after sunset with me on David's arm.

Had we not been the only ones in the store – thanks to the deferring by Michael, Sam and the Frog's down the way – I was certain that we would have been thrown out. Max had to keep up appearances, after all.

"How many times do I have to tell you boys to stay away from here?" Max asked with a slight snarl – much different from his usual composed persona.

"Chill out, _Pops_," Paul laughed as he jumped up to sit on the edge of the counter.

"We have a situation," Dwayne scowled as he spoke in a hard voice.

Max cocked an eyebrow in confusion as he turned to look at me. His eyes briefly raked over me before he turned his attention to David, "Who is she? What happened with Star?"

Mad had never formally met Star. His son's had been forbidden to bring her – who he had chosen after carefully watching to be a companion for the boys – around. No one who wasn't an official member of the family was to know about Max or that he was the head vampire.

When he saw me – who was obviously in the loop – rage began to bubble up inside of him.

"_You_ chose Star as bait, Max. We had no choice in the matter and she was too weak to comply with our lifestyle," David stated as he trailed his sharp fingernails over my lower back. "Rhiannon is someone we enjoy the company of – she's going to become one of us."

"Yeah, we like _her_," Paul purred and I rolled my eyes with a playful scowl aimed towards him.

"Not yours," David growled in a reminder.

"Really?" Max asked with an over-abundance of surprise in his voice. His eyes quickly locked back with mine. "Dear child, are you certain about this decision you're making?"

"First off, _Max_," I snarled as my eyes narrowed into thin slits. "I may be young, but I am not a child. You should be respectful enough to remember that."

I could feel Marko and Dwayne exchange a look of disbelief behind me as Paul held back a snort of laughter. They weren't used to anyone talking to Max with such hostility, not even David. They had been teased when they suggested that I take an attitude with their elder.

I felt the need to prove something, I guessed.

"Secondly, yes, I know the life that I am choosing for myself. I'm an intelligent girl; I know how to weigh all of the options. I wouldn't be here if I had any doubts on becoming a part of this family."

Max's face remained stone solid for a few moments before a grin broke out over his lips, "Welcome to the family." He turned his attention to David. "She's a spitfire. I like that."

"So do I," David smirked as he pressed a kiss into my hair.

"So, is this the situation that couldn't wait?"

David shook his head at Max's question, "The situation is Star. She needs to be eliminated."

"Is it that serious?" Max gaped.

"She won't turn," Dwayne cut back in with a frown. "She's a constant burden and we think she may turn dangerous – she might reveal us."

"That is a problem," Max made a small noise of agreement as he strummed his fingers along the counter under his hands. "I'll come by the cave tonight."

"Good."

* * *

><p>"Michael, I'm frightened," Star whispered to him from where her head was rested in the crook of his shoulder – she had just put Laddie in his own bed and told him to keep quiet.<p>

"Everything will be fine," Michael assured her as his jaw tensed and he let his eyes scan over the room for a brief moment before letting them fall shut.

I watched my parents with a solemn look on my face from across the cave.

I hoped that everything _would_ be okay.

The Frogs were outside the cave; far away enough so that Max wouldn't be able to sense their presence, but close enough so that they would be able to see his entrance.

I didn't trust them, but I knew they wanted Max gone just as much as I did. Also, they weren't nearly as intimidating as they appeared – not when their victims were alerts and awake, at least.

Sam was the only one missing. He was off occupying Lucy for the night – Max cancelled his date with her for the forthcoming plans.

"Come on, girl," Paul laughed as he pulled me to my feet and swayed behind me as a heavy rock tune filled the air. "Perk up."

"Watch those hands, Paul," I teased as I – _unwillingly_ – allowed myself to fall into the music. "Also, I'm perked up just fine. I'm just feeling a little weak on my feet."

David narrowed his eyes as he took a seat beside Dwayne, "Well, if you would have slept – "

"I don't need the lecture, _sweetheart_," I snarled as I loosely wrapped my hands behind Paul's neck with a smirk as Marko chuckled from a few feet away.

"You better watch your girl, David," Dwayne laughed as David narrowed his eyes at Paul – who was now dancing closer to me, strictly to get a rise out of his eldest brother.

I crooked my finger at David with a glint in my eye, "You could come and dance with me, you know?"

David shook his head, "I don't dance."

"You're no fun," I pouted as I twirled away from Paul and placed myself on David's lap. "Am I really going to have to spend an eternity dancing with everyone but you?"

David made a small murmur as he pressed his lips to my neck and I felt his – now dull – teeth graze against the soft skin there, "You can dance with them. You'll have me for everything else."

It was strange how close we had all become in the last few hours alone.

It made me curious of how we would be 100 years from now.

"Oh, hush," I scolded as I pulled away and turned my eyes back to Star and Michael, who were both motionless and oblivious. "How long?"

David tensed and took a deep – albeit unneeded – breath, "He's close."

"Star, Mike!" Paul yelled out. "We have a surprise for you!"

"Yeah, a real special visitor," Marko smiled as he threw an arm around the older blonde's shoulders.

Michael and Star awoke in an instant at the previously determined code – when Max was close enough, we didn't want to risk him overhearing anything but what he was expected to hear.

It was only moments later that Max gracefully descended the steps into the cave, "You boys really should clean up in here more often. It's a disgrace."

"Who are you?" Star asked in a believably oblivious tone.

"Max," Michael growled out as he got to his feet. "_You_. What are you doing here…?"

"Your brother is a lot smarter than you give him credit for," Max chuckled as he pulled his glasses off and stuck them down on his blazer pocket. "I know he and those little comic book misfits knew who I was – before I received an invitation to your home and they became powerless, at least."

"You're the head vampire."

Max nodded as he turned his attention towards David, "Are you certain about this, son?"

David looked up at me and I quickly gave him a gentle smile. He shared a quiet look with me before grazing his lips against mine and turning back to Max as I moved out of his lap, "I'm positive."

Max moved closer to Star and Michael as two voices broke his movements.

"Welcome to your grave, death breath."

The Frogs were standing in the opening of the cave with holy water and stakes in hand.

Max snorted with a glare, "Paul, Marko – Take care of our guests."

"No," David stated quite plainly as I moved over to stand behind Dwayne.

Max cocked his head to the side as realization started to sweep over him, "Really, boys? You think that you can take me out?"

"I know we can," David growled as he got to his feet.

"Why would my own sons turn against me?"

"They aren't your boys anymore," I smirked as my eyes started to yellow. "They're _mine_."

That was the moment that all hell broke loose.

Star, having been the closest to Max, was thrown across the room and through the beam over Laddie's bed with a loud scream. Michael went straight into defense mode and managed to clip Max on the side of the head before being thrown off as well.

I tensed as I watched both of my parents crumple to the floor. **This** was why I wanted them to steer clear.

Edgar and Alan charged forward – stakes and water pistols blazing. Max snarled as he knocked them backwards and a stream of holy water streaked across his face, sizzling at the skin underneath his eye.

It was enough of a distraction to allow the rest of us the upper hand.

I was not of much help, and quickly slumped down to the floor as I landed inches away from Michael with a stream of blood dripping down my face.

The rest of the boys fared much better.

They – as a team – were stronger than Max. While Max had the upper hand of age and experience, the boys had physical strength.

They fed more often than Max and had the advantage of having fresh blood in their systems.

They went completely feral.

I discovered in that moment – that while it had been such a short time that I had been a part of their group – they valued me more than I had expected.

It was comforting and terrifying all at the same time.

My eyes watched everything in a haze as my mind tried to keep up.

Dwayne sunk his teeth in Max's arm, ripping it clear off of the rest of his body with a blood chilling snarl. Marko had the other arm twisted into a broken, contorted position. Paul had one of Max's legs pinned under his weight as he snapped the knee while all three of them pinned Max to the ground with every bit of strength they had.

"C'mon David," Max snarled through a bloodied jaw as David knelt over him. "You aren't going to kill me. I made you!"

David had a brush of hesitation cross over his features as he clasped at the stake in his hand, "I know that you made me, Max. I owe you so much for that."

"I can let all of this go if you walk away now."

I looked over to David as he sat motionless while his brothers continued to pin the snarling Max in place, "David, please."

David locked eyes with me and let the stake fall to the ground as a gasp left my lips – I was so certain that I had lost.

David would continuously prove me wrong.

"Sorry, Max," David chuckled as his eyes narrowed. "You would _never_ let this go."

In a swift motion, his hand punched a hole straight through Max's chest and an ear splitting shriek filled the room. David gave a small twist of his wrist and pulled his hand back out as Max went limp – his heart was clenched in David's fingers, being crushed by the heavy pressure as a stream of smoke wafted off of the eliminated head vampire.

The boys were all thrown backwards as his body – in a theatrically delayed moment – imploded from the impact.

No two vampires ever went out the same way, after all.

"Rhiannon?"


	13. Chapter 13

"_Rhiannon?"_

My eyes were glazed over as I grasped Michael's hand and allowed his help to get to my feet. I used my free hand to trail my fingers over my teeth and found that they were back to their usual bluntness – the sharp fangs that had protruded as the blood trickled down my face was gone. I didn't feel that hunger anymore. I looked up to him and saw a smile etched on his face as Star and Laddie embraced a few feet away.

We were all back to _normal_.

"Dad," I breathed out without thinking as he took me in his arms. "I fixed it – I fixed all of it."

"You did," Michael smiled against the top of my head with a laugh. He pulled away and gave me another once over with his eyes before releasing his grasp and turning to have Star launch herself into his arms. Star turned her eyes to meet mine and gave me a tear-filled nod of appreciation as I was pulled back into a group hug with the three other humans.

As silly as it sounded, I wondered how many more opportunities I would have to embrace my family as a mortal.

I moved out of their arms just moments later as I turned to survey the others there.

Edgar and Alan were still huddled together on the floor, finally stirring from the force of impact. I didn't pay them much attention; I would deal with them later.

Marko was sitting with a blank expression as Dwayne wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders. Paul was a few feet behind them with wild eyes that screamed of an unquenched thirst.

When my eyes finally found David, I almost didn't recognize him.

He looked surprisingly…_ free_. It was as if years of oppression had been lifted off of him.

David got to his feet as soon as he caught my stare and his normal smirk appeared on his lips. I strode forward and launched myself into his arms as my legs wrapped around his waist. His icy lips found my hot ones in an instant.

I had David. That was all that mattered. I wasn't going to be alone any longer.

"I thought you were rethinking things for a moment," I whispered as we finally broke the kiss. "You had me worried."

David chuckled as he loosened his grip so that I could stand on my own feet again, "I'm not that much of an ass, Rhiannon."

"You certainly fooled me," I teased as I turned to look back at Star, Michael and Laddie. "You should get home. Go check on Sam and Grandma Lucy."

Michael nodded and held his arms out towards me once more, which I eagerly ran back to, "It's time for you to go, isn't it?"

"Almost," I nodded with a sideways look towards the Frog's, who had all but run out of the cave after a murmur of, "_This isn't over, bloodsuckers_!" I held back a smile as I turned my eyes toward Paul's with a playful glint and an almost invisible shake of my head.

Paul grinned; I was glad he and I could have a conversation without words.

"I want to talk to the boys before I go. Alone," I muttered as I pressed a kiss to his cheek before ruffling Laddie's shaggy hair and clasping Star's hand in mine with a loving squeeze. "You'll see me again soon enough."

"I know," Michael nodded with an uneasy look over my head at the vampire's grouped behind me. He turned his eyes back to mine and grazed my cheek with his fingertips and a smirk. "I can't wait to meet you again."

We all talked quietly for a few more minutes before the three moved away and towards the opening of the cave, "Wait!"

Star and Michael's heads shot back around with a simultaneous, "What?"

I chuckled softly as I wrung my hands together, feeling once again like a child under scrutiny, "Just throwing this out there… When I'm about 10, the TV in the living room gets completely smashed and you both rip into me because you think I did it."

Michael turned his lips up in a smile as Star quickly matched his expression, "Uh huh?"

"You might want to take it easy on me," I offered with a laugh. "For one that was like the only time I ever really got yelled at – minus for a few fights which weren't my fault. Second, I didn't do it."

"So, who do we yell at for breaking our TV?" Star asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sam. He paid me a hundred bucks so that I would cover for him; he was already on your shit list for something and didn't want to make it worse."

"I'll remember that," Michael laughed with a small nod.

I gave a small wave as they finally disappeared into the night.

"How sentimental," Paul crooned as Dwayne laughed from beside him.

"Fuck off," I groaned as I lifted a sharp shard of glass that had fallen into the fountain into my hand and turned towards the vampires.

Marko eyed me curiously as I stalked forward towards David, "Girl, what are you doing?"

I used my free hand to push David down into the chair behind him, to which he knowingly complied, "I'm ready to go home – David, _neck_." David smirked as he pulled his collar open and tilted his head to the side to expose the pale flesh. "To do that on my own terms, we all know I have to die," I turned my eyes towards the other three. "If I'm going to die, I'm sure as hell not letting any of you kill me. I'm taking things into my own hands."

"You're nuts," Paul laughed as I ran the glass down David's neck, causing a thin stream of red to appear. "I love it!"

"Well, Paul," I began as I dropped the glass to the ground. "You look hungry. Why don't you wait outside and we'll go down to the boardwalk for some dinner?"

"So much better than Max," Marko breathed out with an impressed look as Paul and Dwayne grabbed him and flew out of the cave to allow David and I privacy. "_What? He never let us have any fun!_"

"C'mon, Fighter," David smirked as he snaked an arm around my lower back. "You won't get to do this again for a while, might as well get to it."

"I didn't think you'd get so much satisfaction out of it," I teased as I ran my tongue over my lips and felt the growing tension between our bodies. "If only we had the time for _that_, tsk tsk."

"We'll have a million lifetimes for that," He grinned for a moment before allowing his face to fall stoic once again. "Drink."

I grinned eagerly as I pressed my parted mouth to the gash on his neck, my tongue trailing sensually over the trail of blood. A moan escaped his lips as his other hand grasped at the back of my head while my hands clawed at the material over his chest.

I expected the taste to be rusty and bitter as it had been before. I was thankfully wrong. Maybe it had to do with the bond, but David tasted so much sweeter. It was as if his blood was flavored just for me.

It was like ecstasy.

David had to forcibly pull my face back when I had enough and he was pleased with the sight before him, "I could get used to that look."

His blood was smeared over my lips – and since my mortality had been so recent – the effects of it were quick to take effect, "Just don't expect me to become a monster like you."

David let out a menacing laugh as we got to our feet and made our way over to the steps out of the cave to get to the motorcycles, "Oh, babe. I don't expect you to be like me."

"What's so funny?" I raised an eyebrow as I brushed the blood away with the back of my hand as I removed the lingering grime from my nearly all black ensemble.

"I expect that you'll be much _worse_."

* * *

><p>"You can't kill us!"<p>

"They'll know it was you! They'll go after all of you and finish the job during the day!"

"We would be avenged – fuck, Edgar! Why don't you have any stakes on you?"

"I thought you did! I lost mine back in that creepy ass cave!"

It was almost cute watching Alan and Edgar trying to talk their way out of the position that they were in.

We had found them exactly where anyone could have predicted – outside of their comic book store. They had gone in for who knew what reason, and were on their way home when we cornered them in the deserted alley behind the place. With it being a week night, the rest of the shops had been closed by the early morning hour.

There was no one around to hear them scream.

"It's funny that you think anyone would really care," I laughed with a sharp tone to my voice – maybe David was right. I wasn't even turned and I could feel every fiber of my being screaming to torture. "Sam might miss you for a minute. Frankly, I think that's it."

"What did we ever do to _you_, anyways?" Edgar snapped at me.

"You killed Marko," Paul barked out as he tensed behind me.

Marko nodded with a smug grin, "Once again, didn't stick – damage was still done."

"Also," I smirked as I turned my eyes towards Alan after adjusting my bag over my shoulders; I had almost forgotten about it, and inside weren't things that I wanted to leave behind to rot in the past. "If I remember correctly, you threatened to kill me."

David turned his eyes from Alan to look down at me, "Is that right?" I gave a tiny nod and he snarled at the human male. "Well, I think that seems like more than enough of an excuse."

"You'll die if you kill me," Alan grunted as he clenched his hands at his sides.

"If I'm going to go out, I may at least have fun with it," I winked as I released my hand from David's. "Babe, do you think you could hold that one?"

In a swift – nearly invisible – motion, David grabbed Alan from behind to restrain him, holding a clamped hand over his mouth to silence his screams.

Edgar's eyes widened, but he had to chance to act.

In a flash, Dwayne, Marko and Paul were on him, tearing him to shreds as they drained every last drop of blood from his body.

It wasn't long before they pulled away with blood soaked faces as Edgar's lifeless body hit the ground, appearing as if he had been mauled by a large animal.

David smiled proudly as he turned his attention towards me, "It's your turn."

"Weaken him for me," I requested with a voice full of pure innocence. "You look hungry. Take enough to get your fill. I'll finish it."

Alan grunted in protest as David's face morphed and he sunk his teeth down into the mortal's neck with a sickening crunch. Almost immediately, Alan's eyes glazed over in pain and his struggling weakened.

As David got his fill, he let Alan – who he had only half drained – fall to the ground in a shaking heap, "That'll do."

David moved back to his brothers as I sauntered forward and fell to the concrete, straddling Alan's waist as I clasped his hands over his head, "You shouldn't have threatened me; I might have let you live."

"Go to hell," Alan spit out at me with the small amount of energy he could muster.

I leaned my lips down to his ear with a smile, "I'm sure I will."

That was all the small talk that I needed. My face shifted and I sunk my teeth into Alan's neck without another thought to what I was doing.

I could feel his heartbeat fading on my tongue. I could taste his fear.

It scared me – for a moment – to know that this was the life I was born for… and I liked it.

The blood stopped flowing as I pulled back with a snarl. Alan's body was already cold and I wanted nothing more to do with it. I aimed a kick to his lifeless chest after getting to my feet and backing straight into David's arms.

"David, how long – _fuck_!" I let out a rough cough as I pushed away from him and hit the opposing wall with a dull thud. I clutched at my chest as a searing pressure shot through it.

I knew that the transformation hurt, but this wasn't a normal transformation. As my organs were failing, it wasn't just me becoming a vampire. It was me going home.

"Motherfucking – cunt – bastard – fuck!" My string of obscenities was broken as I struggled to breath and I clawed at the ground below me to find some sense of stability.

"Her mouth is worse than yours," Dwayne pointed out to Paul as they all moved to gather at my side. "I never thought someone would beat you out in that."

"I don't want to do this again," I groaned through clenched teeth as blood seeped through them and down my chin. "This… blows!"

"Hell, it'll probably be worse next time. You'll have to go through the full thing," Paul cut in.

Marko shot a glare towards him, "That's not helping."

"Don't be such a girl – your rare showcase of emotion gives me the hives."

"Don't be such a fucking prick!"

"Shut up!" David bellowed towards the two as Dwayne smacked their heads together. David scowled as he pulled me into his arms and I locked my pain filled eyes with his icy ones. "It's almost done."

"I never thought you'd be the one to care," I chuckled as he pinned my hands down to keep me from clawing open my skin any more than I already had.

"Neither did I," David chuckled as he brought his lips down to mine and licked my blood away from them. "Delicious."

"Not the time," I tensed as I felt my lungs collapsing and my heart slow to a stop. "I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"We'll be there," David nodded as the other boys followed suit. "I remember the date."

I had instructed David not to make an appearance until a few days after I had returned to my own time; I wouldn't understand before then.

My eyes struggled to stay open as I felt my body cave in on itself and the vampires watched on in fascination as I began to disappear from their sight. Only seconds later – after a final, breathy kiss – did I fade to nothing.

David stayed silent as they all got to their feet, the feeling of my warm skin still lingering on his hands. It was certainly not what he had planned for his future – hell, even his summer.

_This_ was even more of an adventure.


	14. Chapter 14

_Michael stared fondly at his daughter as she ran across the playground, the sun having just set around the mass of children and parent's. She was so spirited, so independent. It would have worried him in most situations. However, having met her as a teenager when she time traveled, he didn't worry about much when it came to her._

_It was still baffling to him._

_Star stayed quiet about the whole thing, even now. She hated the fact that David was alive somewhere, and their daughter was the reason for that. It was so confusing._

_He wondered how things would have turned out if she never would have invaded their lives that summer. Would he have killed David? Would the Frog Brothers still be alive? Would he, himself, have made it out?_

_He mostly wondered nowadays when David would make an appearance._

_He had only seen him once since the incident and that was days after the death of Max. They talked briefly, both still tingling with hate and bitterness. It was short, but David had been kind enough to inform Michael that he would be coming around to make impromptu visits – he'd be lingering with the others in the shadows until it was time to appear._

_He supposed he should be grateful that he actually seemed to care about Rhiannon._

"_Hello, Michael."_

"_Think of the devil and he appears."_

"_You're my future father in law, you should think more highly of me," David smirked as he moved to stand beside Michael. "We were in the area, and I thought I smelled something familiar."_

_Michael didn't even need to ask, "It's been years. You remembered her scent?"_

"_Always."_

_Mike turned his head to the side and let his eyes trail over David's new appearance, before shifting his eyes to a few feet back where the rest of the boys were hovering with smirks on their faces. He assessed that Dwayne had changed the least physically; his dark hair still long and flowing. The others now sported shorter locks, and their clothes fit the scene of the late-nineties flawlessly, "You told me that she said not to find her until she was over 18; she's only 5."_

"_She hasn't gotten her ring yet, Michael," David grinned. "She wouldn't even understand. I just appear to be a friend of her fathers if she sees me."_

"_I'm not telling Star about this –"_

"_Daddy!" Rhiannon shrieked as she ran over, a bright grin on her dirtied face._

_Michael raised an eyebrow as he knelt down to her level. He had only been looking away for a minute, "What happened, angel?" He looked over to where a little boy was being yelled at by his mother – who turned her eyes up and shot Michael a look that was a mixture of approval and an apology. The child was filthy as well. "What happened to Kevin?"_

"_He pushed me down," She crossed her arms across her chest after pushing her untamed dark curls from her tanned face. "So, I hit him."_

"_Rhiannon Grace!" Michael gasped and the child flinched backwards._

"_I apologized to him," She mumbled as she turned her eyes towards the ground. "I told his Mommy sorry, too!"_

_Michael pushed a finger under her chin to lift her face back up with a questioning look on his own, "Why did you look so happy when you came over, then?"_

"_His Mommy said I did good for standing up for myself," Rhiannon whispered, her smile only returning as her father's did. "She said Kevin would be okay and maybe he's learned his lesson." Her eyes went soft and big as they usually did when she was trying to win Michael over. "I'm sorry I hit him, Daddy. He hurt my leg and I got upset."_

"_You shouldn't have hit him," Michael held back a laugh, unsuccessfully, as he looked at her torn jeans and scraped knee. "I'm glad you stood up to him, though."_

"_Just like you would! Right?" Her eyes twinkled as he nodded and her attention shifted to the men hanging around her father. "Who are they?"_

"_Oh, Rhiannon… these are old friends of Daddy's."_

"_Hello," She grinned as Marko waved and Dwayne and Paul flashed bright smiles. Her eyes turned to David last, who was now kneeling in the same way Michael was. "You all don't look old enough to be friends with Daddy…"_

"_We're old enough, I promise," David chuckled as Michael even gave a small smirk. He was happy to see that she had always been so spunky. She was tough girl when he knew her; he didn't know that it had started from a young age, or so it seemed. David shook that away and caught her watching him with curious eyes. "What is it?"_

_Rhiannon shook her head and blushed before shuffling her feet backwards and turning her eyes back towards Michael, "Can I play a little longer?"_

"_What about your leg?"_

"_It's only blood, Daddy," She said as if it was an obvious answer and David shared a silent look of amusement with Paul. "Please?"_

"_Five minutes," Michael said firmly as Rhiannon latched her small arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded reluctantly, sighing as she marched over to Dwayne and told him that he had "pretty hair" and almost demanded that he come and swing with her. Paul clutched his side in laughter as Marko punched his arm in a brotherly manner before the two ran off behind Dwayne and Rhiannon._

_David scowled as the four crowded around the swing set, "I speak to her, and yet I'm not invited?"_

_Michael had a similar look on his face, for different reasons, "She said she didn't want to ask you." He caught the look of confusion on David's face and huffed with fatherly annoyance. "She said you were cute; it made her shy. It's a compliment."_

_David's scowl was quickly replaced with a triumphant grin and the hope those 13 more years would pass by quickly._

"Rhiannon!"

My head shot up as I was jolted out of my daydream; it had been three weeks since I returned to my time and different – altered – memories were hitting in waves. Dad had told me of that one on my first evening back and it was finally something that I could put an image to.

_Three_ weeks.

I had some choice words planned for David about his lack of punctuality for when he decided to finally show his face.

I shook the thoughts away as Jeremy Harris – a boy I had met at freshman orientation last week and instantly clicked with – opened the passenger's side door to his car with his free hand propped on his hip, "Are you coming or are you staying in my car all night?"

I felt a blush creep across my cheeks as I grabbed my bag and stepped out of the vehicle, "Sorry, Jer." I glanced down at my blackened ring with a frown before meeting his eyes. "I was lost in my memories again."

"Well, I can't really blame you," Jeremy offered a look of sympathy and mild understanding as he twirled his own dark ring over his finger. "At least you've met your man. If I knew mine and he was away… I'd be a little distracted as well."

I gave him a tiny nod and let out a breath. I felt bad for Jeremy. If these rings were non-existent, I knew he would have no problem finding companionship. He stood about 6 feet tall, with a chiseled jaw and tousled black hair over his piercing green eyes. I knew that I was attractive, but he almost made me feel like an ugly duckling standing beside him.

In the week that we had known each other – _on more than one occasion_ – he had to remind me that I wasn't.

_"If I was straight and the soul mate thing wasn't an issue, I'd be all over you - Hell, get me drunk enough and I might be on you anyways."_

It had been so long since I had really had a friend. It was nice having someone again – especially someone musically inclined.

Shared interests were always a plus.

"C'mon, Princess," He teased as I wrapped my hand around his crooked arm and we made our way through the noisy parking lot towards the small pub – it was a local hangout for the college crowd, and Jeremy knew it to be one that never checked ID's.

I wasn't much of a drinker – though I had many chances at the abundance of high school parties over the last four years. Jeremy had insisted that I needed a night out and proceeded to make sure that I would have an evening where I could forget my David induced woes.

We quickly made our way inside and found a two-seater table near the front of the room by the stage.

"I'll be right back," Jeremy shouted over his nearly bare shoulder – having only clad his upper half in a fitted gray tank top – before disappearing into the crowd of students towards the bar.

I shook my head with a laugh as I dropped my purse on the edge of the table against the wall before glancing down at my own similar outfit – apparently as friends it was okay to dress alike. Had we been soul mates, he never would have given it a second thought as he dressed me for the evening.

The fact that Jeremy was a performing arts student and not a fashion one was still up for much debate.

I had on a silver and black tanktop over a pair of skin tight jeans, topped off with black stilettos – whatever made him think that tall heels + alcohol was a good idea was still beyond me. Thankfully I had an abnormal amount of grace and I didn't expect too many problems.

"Well, we picked a good night to show up," Jeremy beamed as he placed a round of drinks – which could have supplied half of a football team – on the table before me.

"Holy fuck, Jer," I teased as I prodded at one of the glasses. "Don't want to have to make a trip to the bar later?"

Jeremy aimed a playful scowl at me before taking his seat, "We have a benefactor."

"Excuse me?"

"The bartender said that someone has offered to pay our tab – anything we wanted," He grinned as he motioned to the array of drinks. "This is what I wanted. Oh! There are also hot wings and nachos coming out soon."

"Jeremy Harris!" I scolded as I glanced over his shoulder to look for a familiar face, something that proved unsuccessful. "You don't find that a little, oh, weird?"

"I'm not stupid, Rhi," He frowned as he set a shot glass with an electric blue liquid inside before me. "She said the guy was a regular customer – some rich hotshot. He does this all the time in some Robin Hood styled give to the poor thing. He picks a group, buys their drinks and remains anonymous all in an effort to ease his guilt on being one of the elite."

"It's still weird," I grumbled as I sniffed at the coconut scented mixture. Jeremy scowled until I clasped the small glass in my hand. "What are we drinking to?"

"Getting you drunk – _fine, tipsy_. Quit scowling!... and karaoke."

"Fuck me."

The shots were downed quickly and I easily lost myself in what the night was supposed to be – a break.

Because of that, I didn't notice the shift in colors in mine and Jeremy's rings.

**XXX**

An hour later, I could truthfully say I was feeling amazing.

I wasn't drunk, mind you. I had no intentions on getting sloppy. I did, however, have a nice buzz going.

Surprisingly, this place was a lot more fun than I had anticipated. I guess that had to do with it being a college hangout. The atmosphere was laid back and anyone's personal drama was left at the door – the bar was a place for eternal relaxation.

The karaoke, however, had been far from up to my standards. Karaoke most anywhere usually was, though.

It may have also had something to do with the fact that I _could_ sing – that plus the alcohol warming my body made me a bit of a perfectionist. However, all rude comments were left aside – everyone was enjoying themselves. If they weren't ashamed to make asses of themselves, I wasn't going to judge them.

Passion ruled overall, not talent.

"_Up next: Rhiannon Emerson and Jeremy Harris_!"

"Wait, what?" I squeaked as Jeremy jumped to his feet with a glint in his eye. "Oh, I hate you."

"We're vocally gifted, Rhiannon," Jeremy argued with a small laugh and a slight slur. "It would be rude not to give everyone here the pleasure of hearing our voices."

"Arrogant," I mumbled as I took his hand and followed him up the steps to the center of the stage. "You better have picked a song that I know."

"I think you'll be fine," He winked as he handed me a microphone. "You were humming this yesterday. I wasn't going to be a total dick."

"That's surprising," I chuckled as I clasped my hand around the microphone in time for the music to start up. "Okay, this is an acceptable duet."

Jeremy gave a snarky, _told you so_ sort of nod my way before starting his cue," _Do you hear me? I'm talking to you. Across the water, across the deep blue ocean. Under the open sky, oh my. Baby, I'm trying._"

"_Boy, I hear you in my dreams. I feel your whisper across the sea. I keep you with me, in my heart. You make it easier when life gets hard_," I sang in a perfect harmony as we laced our free hands together.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
>Lucky to have been where I have been<br>Lucky to be coming home again_

_Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh  
>Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh<em>

_They don't know how long it takes waiting for a love like this  
>Every time we say goodbye, I wish we had one more kiss<br>I'll wait for you  
>I promise you I will<em>

Jeremy's eyes widened as we released hands upon his next solo verse and he nodded down to my ring, which was a dull red.

An annoyed smirk played across my lips – because _of course_ David would have chosen now to show up. I avoided searching through the crowd for him just yet. I had lyrics to focus on. Instead, my own eyes popped open as I let out a tiny laugh and gestured to Jeremy's left hand with a mouthing of, "_Look down_."

Jeremy cocked an eyebrow in confusion, until he saw that his ring was the same hue as mine. His generally composed persona shifted and I could see his skin flush in the dim lights as he stumbled over the last few words of the song.

I couldn't help but wonder – and hope – that was more than a coincidence. I liked Jeremy. The thought of keeping him around was comforting, in a way. However, I was very confused if it _wasn't_ more than a coincidence.

We left the stage to roaring applause – which, yes, made me a little giddy on the inside. I clasped Jeremy's hand back in mine as we got to our table, "Hold on, okay?"

"Uh huh, but…" His eyes immediately began scanning the room for a face he hadn't seen so far in the evening.

"Eh, no _but's_," I chuckled as I threw my purse over my shoulder and noticed my ring went dark again. "Oh, real nice." I chugged the remainder of my drink before pulling on Jeremy's hand as we weaved through the crowd and towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Jeremy asked with an alarmed tone before I motioned to his ring. "Wait, where did he go?"

"_Outside_," I groaned with a scowl.

The chill night air was welcoming to my flushed skin as we stepped outside and my eyes darted around, "This isn't hide and seek, David!" I paused for a moment as realization swept over me. "Oh, _benefactor_! I should really thank you properly from trying to get Jeremy and I trashed - _lazy hunters_!"

A booming laugh – Paul's, if I was correct – from across the parking laugh caught my attention and I zeroed in in an instant. I dragged Jeremy behind me and found David standing in front of a concrete ledge – the edge of a higher, fenced off parking lot. Paul, Dwayne and Marko were all sitting on the bars over the ledge, swinging their legs over the six foot drop, "Hello, boys."

"Hey, girl," Paul smirked as the other two gave me a smile and a wave. "You reek of tequila - and mediocre singing."

My eyes narrowed with a low growl, "You reek of years of man whoring and disappointment."

"I missed you, too."

I grinned as my eyes trailed over each of them, basking in the change of their appearances. It was entertaining to see them so… modern. Marko and Paul each had their blonde hair shortened, their clothing current and preppy in style. Dwayne had his hair shaggy, just past his ears and swept to the side; he looked just as dark and mysterious as before.

David, of course, took my breath away.

He wore solid black, from his jeans to the button downed top covering his toned torso. His hair was slicked back – and with my inner nerd emerging – reminded me a bit of Draco Malfoy.

"Hey, fighter."

I dropped Jeremy's hand and sauntered forward, "David."

My sneer became more pronounced as a growl slipped from my lips and my hand smacked across his face with an echoing thwack. "You complete ass! Almost a month, David! You've had three fucking weeks!"

My hand was stopped from swinging again as David grabbed my wrist with a low hiss and a smirk, "I don't think so." He pulled me up to him with a small amount of struggling on my part. "It's only been a few weeks. You'll manage." He noticed that my glare didn't lessen and he moved his lips to one of my ears. "I missed you."

That did it.

I lost out to my relief, and a strained smile spread across my face, "Sure you did."

I turned my head and before I had a chance to react, his icy lips captured mine in a rough kiss. It was a kiss over twenty five years – _technically_ – in the making.

It was hard and fiery… and perfect.

I pulled away and grinned from ear to ear. I felt whole again.

The boys behind David all cheered and hollered – in an act that made me really question their ages – as Jeremy bit down on his bottom lip, "Rhi?"

I quickly spun around and my euphoria was replaced by concern at the tone of my friend's voice - who I had almost forgotten about as the boys entered my vision, "What?" He lifted his hand up, and the ring was brighter than ever. "Oh! Huh. You know, I was just thinking I was being mental…"

I let out a laugh at the same time that David caught sight of the ring and his jaw dropped ever so slightly. His head turned to face his boys slowly, his eyes wide with bewilderment, "Someone has been keeping a secret for a very long time…"

Dwayne and Paul immediately held their hands up in surrender, "Don't look at us, man!"

David turned to Marko, who had caught on quite quickly to the situation.

"Sex appeal knows no gender, man," The youngest of the brothers smirked and shrugged before gliding down from the railing to hit the ground with a soft thud. "It never seemed important to mention."

Marko caught Jeremy's eye and the mortal let out a small yell as the ring burned against his skin. A bright smile spread across Jeremy's face moments later, "_Finally_."

"I think we have some things to talk about, Jer."


	15. Chapter 15

March 2094

Had I still been a human, this month would have marked my 100th birthday.

If I wasn't in the everlasting body of a 22 year old – _I had been adamant on graduating from college before I turned_ – I would have cringed at the realization.

78 years had passed by in a relative blur; save for a few events that I was certain would always be burned into my memory.

The last night I saw my parents as a mortal...  
>...David allowing me to drink from him while Jeremy did the same from Marko...<br>...My first kill – a crude man who tried too hard to infiltrate my comfort zone...  
>...The day Sam died… then Laddie, Mom… my Dad was last.<p>

Dad was the oldest, but I wasn't at all surprised that he was the last to go.

"_Hi, Daddy," I whispered as I entered his hospital room – nearly silent, save for an old comedy movie playing on the mounted TV._

_I had easily slipped passed who I knew to be Sam and Laddie's aging children and grandchildren. They were our last living relatives… who knew nothing about me. Well, nothing truthful. They all assumed I died at 22. They wouldn't have known who I was even if they had seen me. I was thankful that they were there, though._

_"Uncle Mike" was well loved to all. He didn't deserve to go without family aren't.  
><em>

_However, I was most thankful that they were all in the hospital's cafeteria now. I needed the time alone with my Dad._

_Dad looked over with a beaming smile on his heavily aged face as I pushed the door closed behind me, "Hey, honey."_

_I let out a shaky sigh as I inched forward. I could already feel the last shred of humanity slipping from me as my Dad lay hanging somewhere in the last few moments of life, "I got here as soon as I could. I haven't meant to leave you alone for so long."_

"_Baby," He shook his head as he let out a strained laugh. "It hasn't been two weeks since I've seen you. Stop your worrying."_

"_Two weeks felt like longer," I mumbled as I took a seat on the bed with my hip pressed against his. "Daddy, I feel ridiculous." I felt the tears prick at my eyes – though they were rare, vampires could still cry. It had been an interesting fact to learn. "I just… I'm not ready to let you go."_

_Dad grasped one of my hands in his as I leaned down to press our foreheads together, "I know, baby. I **am** ready to go, though." He kept his composure much better than I was faring. I couldn't help but be jealous. "I'm going to be with Laddie and Sam and…"_

"_Mom, I know," I finished with a sniffle. "Can I ask you a question?"_

"_Anything," He breathed out as I pulled my head away._

"_I know it's because you're aging and all that the doctors said – I read your chart – but… and forgive the last piece of fairytale notions in me… are you dying because of a broken heart? Mom was your soul mate, and it happens so often…"_

"_Yes," He answered swiftly to cease my babbling. "I think so."_

_Mom had only been gone a month; Dad getting sick two weeks later was too fresh to be anything but heart break._

"_You look so much like her," Dad had to shake the thought of his wife away almost as quickly as it had come. "Where are David and the other boys?"_

"_Outside," I answered as I smoothed my cold hand over his burning, wrinkled cheek. I wanted to be able to remember as much of him as I could in these final moments. "They were going to come in, but David told them not to."_

"_Why is that?" Dad asked with a raised eyebrow._

_Over the years, he had grown surprisingly fond of all of the boys – he had even referred to David as his son on a rare occasion. He was convinced that I – maybe with Jeremy's help – had given a sense of compassion to the four heartless, soulless boys._

"_They, uh…" My voice started to break again as my eyes fluttered shut. "Daddy, I can hear your heart stopping. You have maybe a few minutes left. They… I wanted to see you alone."_

"_I had a feeling it was coming to a close," Dad mused quietly as he rubbed a callous thumb over the back of my hand. "I was just holding on long enough to see my little girl one last time."_

"_Daddy," My free hand clenched down on a piece of the metal railing surrounding the bed and crushed it as if it was nothing more than a piece of dough. "I love you so much." I leaned over to press a few light kisses to his cheek as he pressed a hot, lingering one to mine. "I'm going to miss you."_

"_I'll always be with you, honey. Always," Dad breathed out against my skin. "I love you. I never could have asked for a better daughter. You were – are – so perfect to me. Oh, baby, stop crying. Death is a part of life – you should know that better than anyone."_

_A small chuckle unwillingly left my lips as I finally broke our facial contact, "I know, Daddy." I sucked in a deep, unneeded breath as the nearly silent beating of the sole working heart in the room became almost miniscule. "It's time. Are you… are you in pain?"_

_Dad motioned to the IV drip in his arm, "Heavy painkillers; I can't feel a thing. I'm okay, really."_

"_Do you need anything?" I whimpered._

"_Shh," Dad breathed out so softly that had I barely heard him. "Sing to me."_

"_What?" I asked, confused. "Why?"_

"_Your voice came from me, honey," He smiled as his eyes met mine. "I want that to be the last thing I hear – that phenomenal voice that I gave you."_

"_O-Okay," I nodded. "I love you, Daddy."_

"_I love you, Rhiannon."_

_My deep red lips parted as I crooned directly down to Dad, who was lying with his eyes closed and body relaxed for what was to come. I skipped around most of the song – it had been years since I heard it – until I reached the end._

_That was a part I had never been able to forget, for a reason I wasn't sure of._

"…_Now they'll walk on my arm through the distant night and I won't let them stray from my heart  
>Through the wind, through the dark, through the winter light<br>I will read all their dreams to the stars  
>I'll walk now with them<br>I'll call on their names  
>I'll see their thoughts are known<br>Not gone, not gone  
>They walk with my heart –<br>And I'll never let them go…"_

_My voice faded away as Dad went completely still under my touch and all sounds from his body ceased._

_I had never been so grateful that I didn't need to breathe. I wasn't sure that I would have been able to._

_That was it… my last tie to this life was gone. It was devastating and a relief all at once._

"_Goodbye, Daddy."_

_I pressed a final kiss to his forehead – and after a lingering, love filled look – I pushed the emergency call button on the side of his bed and fled from the room, just as unseen as before._

_It didn't take me long to make it outside and where the other boys were waiting in the shadows of the chill winter night in the Midwestern town my parents had moved to nearly 30 years before._

_They were all bundled up – merely for keeping up appearances. Any other time and I might have laughed at how we all looked._

_David had one hand shoved into the pocket of his tailored coat while the other clutched the cigarette he had been puffing on. Paul was standing beside him, in a similar position and keeping his mouth closed – he didn't want to invoke my wrath should he say the wrong thing._

_David had been right about one thing – I was more of a monster than he was. My emotions flipped on the drop of a hat and it had the tendency to leave the boys on edge in many situations, this one in particular._

_Jeremy stood off to the side with his arm around Marko's waist. They both gave small smiles which I wasn't really able to return, much to their understanding._

_Dwayne was the one I had been searching for and he was waiting in preparation._

_He was everyone's protector, after all._

_With a final sob, I bolted passed David with a shake of my head and ran into Dwayne's arms. He scooped me up into them without hesitation and held me with the brotherly affection that I had grown used to._

_That was the last time I cried or felt any semblance of emotion for anyone other than David or my brothers._

"Rhiannon, move!... _Shit_!"

My memory was pushed aside as a snarl ripped through my lips and I looked down to find my clothes covered in dirt and sand as I was knocked to the ground outside of the cave.

We hadn't been here in nearly 60 years. It seemed like a good time to return to where everything began.

Paul was on top of me with a football – _couldn't they find something more modern to play?_ – clutched in his hands. Dwayne and Jeremy were across the rocky beach holding back laughter as Paul scrambled backwards at the look on my face, "Babe, chill."

"What have I said about calling her babe?" David joked as he and Marko exited the cave with keys to all of their motorcycles jingling in their hands.

Marko's eyes widened as he caught the state that Paul and I were in and he let out a low whistle, "Here we go again."

"These were new and designer," I growled as I got to my feet and fingered the rip in the silver and black jeans I was wearing. "They were **custom made**, Paul."

"One, you can afford another pair. Easily," Paul reasoned as the football fell from his hands. "Two, they look kind of hot all ripped up…"

"Run," I said barely above a whisper.

"Oh, come on," Paul whined as he pushed his blonde locks away from his face. "It's time to go get dinner and _I_ look nice – "

That last dig was all I needed to hear before I launched myself forward and threw Paul to the ground. A grunt escaped my lips as Paul jabbed at my ribcage before I took the upper hand back with a knee to his groin – we never had played fair. We rolled along the sand exchanging blows and quick bites. Paul let out a groan as our legs tangled together and he pulled on a chunk of my hair as I pressed my fangs to his neck.

I managed to elbow Paul in the throat to distract him enough to release his hold as we separated – both of us lingering in a low crouch.

"Are you two done?" Jeremy asked with a sigh. "I would like to hunt."

Mirroring each other's movements, Paul and I slowly rose to our feet.

"Yeah, we're done."

"For now."

Paul cocked an eyebrow at that as he wiped a streak of blood from his throat, "You want me."

"As a throw rug," I grinned before climbing behind David on his motorcycle and slipping my arms around his waist. "Let's go."

"Manners," David smirked as he drew out the last letter in a hiss.

Dwayne chuckled from the next bike over.

"Oh, David. Can we _please_ go so that I can sink my teeth into something?" I asked in my sweetest voice before leaning forward to brush my swollen lips against his ear. "That way the boys can stay out and play… and you and I can go _inside_ to do the same?"

David grinned, "That sounds better."

"I thought it might," I laughed before pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. "I love you."

David turned his head to give me a once over, "Yeah, I love you too."

I smirked as my eyes traveled over to Paul once again, who was arguing with Dwayne about where on the boardwalk to hit first. Jeremy was rolling his eyes at the pair before sharing a small kiss with Marko before settling down on their respective motorcycles.

**This** was my family now.

It was the best family that I could have asked for.

"Let's go, fuckers!"

"Quit being a little shit, Paul."

"How many times has that been said this month?"

"Enough - mostly by _me_."

"How the hell did I get roped up with all of you?"

"Oh, Jer. It's my good looks - you couldn't resist."

...Well, it was a _good enough_ family.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so this entire fic ended up being shorter than I planned. However, I have nowhere else to take it really without drawing things out too much, so this seems as good a stop as any.<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who followed/read/reviewed!**


	16. Sequel?

So, I've been thinking about writing a sequel. My question is whether or not anyone is interested. I would love to write it as long as someone would want to read it.

Plot Overview:

_Rhiannon loved her life with her mate and family in Santa Carla over 100 years after she was originally there. Things were as perfect as they could be. That changed one day when a hunter showed up and the destruction that came with him engulfed the female vampire, sending her life on a whirlwind spiral that no one was sure if she would survive._

… Well? Should I put my free time to a productive use?


End file.
